DeSantis faces rugged comeback against Trump, increased AI surveillance: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Reboot: Ron DeSantis faces a rugged comeback trail against Donald Trump

Ron DeSantis faces a rugged comeback trail against Donald Trump. Plus, Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CNN is shut down, USA TODAY reporter Itzel Luna on increased governmental use of AI surveillance, is this the end of antibiotics?, and USA TODAY Political Reporter Rachel Looker on empty cockpits, canceled flights and crowded airports as Congress tackles the pilot shortage. 

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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.

Dana Taylor:

Good morning and welcome to 5 Things. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Monday, July 31st, 2023. Ron DeSantis hits a rugged comeback trail, Donald Trump's lawsuit against CNN is shut down, and a New York subway system implements AI-powered surveillance.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is returning to his presidential campaign after his team dismissed more than a third of its staff. Donors have become increasingly anxious about his chances against Trump, and some are switching to other candidates. In Iowa, New Hampshire, and other early primary states, DeSantis is trying to interact personally with more voters, a practice known as retail politics, and give more television interviews. DeSantis is also seeking to draw more distinctions with Trump on policy. The candidate refuses to go after Trump over his indictments and other legal problems that will flow throughout the campaign, though some of his aides are starting to become more vocal.

Meanwhile, Trump and his allies say they will maintain their aggressive posture. During a rally Saturday in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump said DeSantis and "those other clowns" running against him should just drop out of the Republican race. To catch up to Trump, DeSantis has a long way to go, if polls are to be believed. Even while under indictment, Trump has built a lead of more than 30 percentage points over DeSantis, according to averages of polls compiled by the RealClearPolitics website. Trump is regularly over 50% in these surveys, while DeSantis has fallen below 20%.

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A federal judge on Friday dismissed Donald Trump's defamation case against CNN, in which the former President accused the news outlet of associating him with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Trump alleged CNN's use of the phrase "the big lie" to describe his false claims of election fraud in the 2020 race for the White House created a comparison with Hitler, who used the term in different contexts alongside other Nazi figures. Trump claimed the phrase has "incited readers and viewers to hate, contempt, distrust, ridicule, and even fear" him, according to District Judge Raag Singhal's findings. Trump sought more than $475 million in damages against CNN. In dismissing the case, Judge Singhal said the comments Trump cited in the lawsuit are "opinion, not factually false statements."

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AI surveillance isn't new, but its expanded use has privacy experts worried. For more on that, I'm joined by USA Today reporter Itzel Luna. Itzel, thanks for hopping on.

Itzel Luna:

Of course. Thanks for having me.

Dana Taylor:

So, airports and police stations have been using AI to surveil the public for years now, but this week there was a new addition to the list. Where?

Itzel Luna:

Yes. So it's still unclear exactly how long they've been using it for, but it was reported that the AI software is now being used in subway stations across New York City.

Dana Taylor:

And how many stations will have this technology?

Itzel Luna:

So, the technology is currently used at seven subway stations across New York City, and that's according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, they run the subway system. But, they are planning to add the software in more than two dozen other stations by the end of the year.

Dana Taylor:

Okay. And how are they planning to use this AI tool?

Itzel Luna:

Yeah. In the subway stations, the AI is being used to track fare evaders. So these are subway riders who avoid paying the fare. They can use various methods, including jumping over turnstiles or walking through the emergency exit gates. And so the software essentially uses the security cameras that are already inside of the subway stations to flag those that don't pay the fare and scan the travelers. The MTA claims that they are only using the software essentially as a counting tool. So they're using it to track the number of people that aren't paying fares, and this will better help them decide how to deal with this problem. And they're also saying the data is actually stored for a certain amount of time, though it's still unclear exactly how long the data is kept for.

Dana Taylor:

Okay. So not everyone is a fan of this technology. What are some of the criticisms?

Itzel Luna:

So the major criticisms that we're seeing stem from issues of data privacy and also discrimination. Experts tell me they're very concerned that this increased reliance on AI to track people as they move about and travel takes away from their rights to privacy without government oversight. They also fear this takes away agency and choice from people whose pictures might now be used in large government databases for facial recognition without any prior consent.

There's another really big concern related to discrimination. Facial recognition software has been a huge cause of concern, because many reports and studies have found the software can be flawed and also discriminatory against people of color. So these various studies have found that the error rate is significantly higher, particularly for Black women compared to any other demographic. And experts are really concerned that this increased reliance on a flawed software will lead to higher rates of police violence and arrests against communities of color.

Dana Taylor:

Thank you so much for sharing your reporting here, Itzel.

Itzel Luna:

Of course. Thank you.

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Dana Taylor:

Over 100 years ago, antibiotics revolutionized healthcare by helping humans fight bacterial infections. But what if they just stopped working? For more than 3 billion years, bacteria have been evolving and have learned to change themselves to survive. The more we use antibiotics, the more the bacteria adapt. In 2019, the last year data is available, almost 3 million Americans had antimicrobial resistant infections and more than 35,000 died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, deaths already top 5 million a year and are expected to grow into the tens of millions within a few decades.

The U.S. was making solid progress against antibiotic resistance before the pandemic, but the health crisis pushed hospitals and other healthcare facilities near their breaking point, leading to an increase in antibiotic use and a significant increase in resistant infections. Without antibiotics, minor injuries can become life-threatening. Also, many surgeries wouldn't be able to happen without knowing there were antibiotics to prevent any later infections. Vaccines, including some now under development, offer the potential to fight infections that would otherwise need to be controlled with antibiotics. Nature has also offered a potential solution: bacteriophage, viruses that naturally destroy bacteria. The upside is that phage are extremely specific. The downside of such specificity is that a phage might only knock out the bacteria in one sick person.

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Shortages in flight crews are leading airlines to reduce schedules, resulting in thousands of flight delays and cancellations. Congress is stepping up to try to help. For more on this story, I'm joined now by Politics Reporter Rachel Looker. Rachel, thanks so much for joining me today.

Rachel Looker:

Thank you for having me.

Dana Taylor:

So first of all, why are there so many crew shortages to begin with?

Rachel Looker:

A lot of it stems from the COVID-19 pandemic when fewer travel led to pandemic era staffing reductions, because there were less people traveling on planes and less need for air traffic controllers, pilots and other crew that are involved in the safety at airports. The Regional Airline Association found that 15,000 pilots are said to retire in the next five years, and there's just not enough pilots joining the industry to make up for that loss.

Dana Taylor:

You write that Congress is trying to help. How are they doing that?

Rachel Looker:

So, Congress is doing several things to address these shortages. Part of it comes from the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization, which is essentially legislation that funds the FAA through fiscal years. The next one will fund through fiscal year 2028, and current funding expires at the end of September. The House has passed its own version, which improves recruitment and retention of industry workers. It increases hiring targets for air traffic controllers, establishes workforce development programs. And one of the provisions which received some backlash from certain lawmakers and pilot union groups was to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 for commercial pilots in an effort to retain pilots for an additional two years.

One other provision that was considered in the House version of the FAA Reauthorization bill looked at relaxing some minimum experience and training requirements to serve as a professional airline pilot, but that was ultimately struck out of the House's final version of the bill. And now the Senate is working on their own version, which we'll likely have some more updates on when they return from their recess in September.

Dana Taylor:

And I know you also spoke with someone from the Allied Pilots Association, the Labor Union representing American Airlines pilots. What did they say?

Rachel Looker:

I spoke with Captain Dennis Tajer. He's the spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, and he expressed concern for changing requirements like raising the retirement age for pilots. He said that it really comes down to how unstudied this area is and what possible impacts there could be on safety by increasing the retirement age for two years. The International Civil Aviation Organization does not allow pilots older than 65 to fly. So if this provision would pass in the final version that both the House and Senate pass of the FAA Reauthorization, United States pilots who are between 65 and 67 won't be able to fly internationally.

Dana Taylor:

Okay. So a lot of people are traveling this summer, taking trips they've put off since the pandemic hit. Anything travelers can do to guard against these kinds of disruptions?

Rachel Looker:

Of course whenever you're traveling, things happen last minute, and going with the flow is very important. But traveling early can help. Morning flights can often be less affected by delays or by cancellations. Travelers can also avoid connecting flights and try to just fly directly to their location to avoid missing a connecting flight or having their connecting flight be canceled. They could also buy travel insurance just in case something were to go wrong. That can help recoup the costs that they lost for the trip and get some help re-booking or getting a hotel, if needed, to spend the night elsewhere.

Dana Taylor:

Thanks so much for your time here, Rachel.

Rachel Looker:

Thank you for having me.

Dana Taylor:

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us seven mornings a week on your favorite podcast platform. If you liked the show, please subscribe. Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Any comments, you can reach us at [email protected]. Catch up on all the news you need to know throughout the day at usatoday.com. I'm Dana Taylor filling in for Taylor Wilson, and I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.