On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Trump pleads not guilty to charges in election indictment

USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer recaps former President Donald Trump's arraignment in Washington. Plus, six white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi have pleaded guilty to federal charges in the beating and sexual assault of two Black men, two bodies have been found in the Rio Grande, including one near a floating barrier, USA TODAY Money Reporter Bailey Schulz looks at how stores are locking items to prevent theft. But is it necessary? And Taylor Swift announces new North American tour dates.

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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.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Friday, the 4th of August 2023. Today, Trump has entered a plea in his latest indictment. Plus, controversy at the border as more dead bodies have been found, and stores are locking up products to curb theft, but is it necessary?

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President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty, as expected, in Washington yesterday for his third arraignment, this time related to election interference. He was formally charged with conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. As Trump entered his plea protestors both for and against the former president gathered outside. And, as USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer told me, the proceedings went mostly as expected. Thanks for hopping on, Josh.

Josh Meyer:

My pleasure, Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

So former President Donald Trump was in Washington yesterday for his third indictment. Josh, did everything go as expected or were there any surprises here?

Josh Meyer:

There weren't any surprises. This is the third time this has happened and each time Trump makes the big journey from wherever he is, Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster in this case, to the courthouse it seems more and more routine. I was in Miami for the first federal indictment back in June, and that was kind of a zoo. It was really crazy. This one was much more measured, much more calm. There weren't a lot of protestors outside. It seemed pretty pro forma where he came in, he entered his plea, and then he left.

Taylor Wilson:

Josh, Trump's legal team has moved to delay proceedings in previous cases. Does it appear they plan on following that same strategy here?

Josh Meyer:

Yeah, it does, Taylor. I mean, the judge - who is a magistrate, she's not the judge that's going to be hearing the case - in planning with the judge who will be hearing this case, Judge Tanya Chutkan, she gave them three dates for the next upcoming appearance, August 21st, I believe August 23rd, and August 28th. The prosecution opted for August 21st. Trump, of course, picked the farthest date out, August 28th, and that's what the judge agreed on. So, it does appear that they're trying to stall for time, I think. And Trump, in his remarks after his arraignment, kept saying that he's being prosecuted and persecuted because he's a front-runner in the GOP race for president. And so I do think the prosecutors are trying to move as quickly as possible on this so that they can get it far along hopefully, and maybe even completed before the election.

Taylor Wilson:

And did the judge give any further instruction to the Trump legal team?

Josh Meyer:

Yeah. One thing that was interesting is that the judge on Thursday did specifically tell Trump and his legal team, warned him very specifically, not to contact or pressure any of the potential witnesses in the case. And that seems, according to legal scholars, to be based on Trump's penchant in the past for sometimes reaching out for people that are potential witnesses in cases against him, and also using social media and his campaign stops to threaten or intimidate witnesses. So, that was the one unusual thing that stuck out in the courtroom.

Taylor Wilson:

And Josh, what sentence could Trump face if convicted on all counts here?

Josh Meyer:

He faces 55 years if convicted on all accounts. And again, if he were to be convicted and sentenced, some of them could run concurrently, I believe, but I think it's 55 years.

Taylor Wilson:

Josh Meyer, great insight for us as always. Thank you, sir.

Josh Meyer:

My pleasure.

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Taylor Wilson:

Six white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges in the beating and sexual assault of two Black men, one of whom was also shot in the mouth. They pleaded guilty to 13 federal felony offenses, including civil rights conspiracy and deprivation of rights under color of law. The two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, say the officers burst into the home they were residing in without a warrant in January. A warning, the following details are graphic. They say the officers then beat them, assaulted them with a sex toy, and shocked them repeatedly with tasers over the course of about 90 minutes. They say that a deputy then shot one of them in the mouth. Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, described the assault as torture and that the officers sought to dehumanize the victims.

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Officials in Mexico are investigating after two bodies were found in the Rio Grande along the U.S. Mexico border. One of them was spotted this week along a floating border barrier installed by Texas authorities. It marks the first time a body has been found along the barrier, which was installed at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott and is made of wrecking ball sized buoys. They were installed last month as the latest escalation to border security operations in Texas. Earlier this summer, USA TODAY reported that migrant children and adults have been lacerated by razor wire installed by the state.

The Mexican government said, in a press release on Wednesday, that the placement of chained buoys in the water by Texas authorities is a violation of Mexican sovereignty. For its part, the Texas Department of Public Safety said that preliminary information suggests the individual drowned upstream from the buoys before floating into them. Mexican officials said that a second body was also found, this one some three miles from the floating barrier. In addition to Mexico's concerns about the buoys, the U.S. Justice Department is suing Texas over the barrier that the Biden administration says was unlawfully put in place.

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If you've been at a pharmacy, home goods store, or big box store recently, you might have noticed just how many products are under lock and key, unavailable to purchase until you call over an employee. Stores say they're doing so to prevent theft. But is retail theft actually on the rise? I spoke with USA TODAY Money Reporter Bailey Schulz for more. Thanks for hopping on 5 Things, Bailey.

Bailey Schulz:

Yeah. Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So, Bailey, starting here, what is retail shrinkage and how does theft relate to it?

Bailey Schulz:

Yeah. So, lately we've been hearing a lot of retailers talk about shrinkage and shrink, which is basically just a fancy industry term retailers use to describe the difference between the inventory a store has on its balance sheet and its actual inventory. So, shrink can come from a lot of things, external theft, internal thefts, items that are lost or damaged. So, what we've been seeing is a lot of companies and retailers like Home Depot, Target, Dollar General, they've been raising the alarm on a spike in shrink lately. As far as what these retailers are concerned about, a lot of them are saying that they are concerned specifically with thefts and organized retail theft, which is when thieves steal merchandise and then resell it for profit and they're often reselling it online.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah. And as you say, the retailers themselves are often the ones raising these alarms. Does the data support what they're saying about this kind of retail crime effort around the country?

Bailey Schulz:

So the thing is, we just don't have a lot of great data out there right now to know exactly what's going on with theft and organized retail crime specifically. A lot of what we are hearing are anecdotes. I think a lot of us have seen those videos showing these organized retail crime efforts and just theft going on in stores. And then we're also hearing from retailers and retail trade associations about this. And the thing is, those numbers are really hard to pin down. So, when we see these trade groups, like the National Retail Federation, reporting that 37% of 2021 shrink was related to external theft, the spokesperson told me that these figures are not necessarily guess, but "best estimates." So, we're seeing some questioning if retailers are focusing too much on organized retail crime, ignoring other drivers of shrink, like supply chain bottlenecks and staffing issues. So it's just really hard to have exact figures on this space.

Taylor Wilson:

And how does shrink affect shoppers?

Bailey Schulz:

Yeah, so that's the thing. No matter what the cause of shrink is, these reactions that retailers are taking are affecting consumers and shoppers no matter what. So, we've seen retailers point to shrink as the reason behind certain stores cutting hours, them locking up items, some stores even closing completely, or threats to close stores completely. And so the reactions that these stores are taking are impacting shoppers in real time. There are some concerns that these actions can turn away customers. So, if all your items are under a lock and key, is someone walking through your store and shopping really going to take the time to have an employee walk over and unlock the item? And then there's also the fact that a lot of the steps that we're seeing retailers take to mitigate shrink, like adding more security measures, those costs are going to be passed down to the consumer eventually. So we're seeing these concerns really have real world impact on shoppers.

Taylor Wilson:

And Bailey, is this just the new reality of shopping at a lot of stores, where so many products are under lock and key and you need to hit the help button? Or are there solutions here?

Bailey Schulz:

Yeah. So the good news is that a lot of experts and CEOs are saying that shrink is often typical. I mean, a lot of people don't expect these concerns and this uptick that retailers are reporting to be a long-term issue. So, yet to be seen how this will all play out and how much of these steps will be permanent, but we're already seeing some retailers pull back on the steps they're taking against shrink and theft.

Taylor Wilson:

Bailey Schultz covers money for USA TODAY. Thanks, Bailey.

Bailey Schulz:

Thank you.

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Taylor Wilson:

Get ready, Swifties. Taylor Swift yesterday announced a new set of North American tour dates for the fall of 2024, as she heads to Miami, New Orleans, Indianapolis, and Toronto. That also means the sport of buying tickets for the shows has returned. The superstar's current round of U.S. tour dates ends next week in Los Angeles after more than five months and stadiums full of more than 2 million fans. After an initial ticket sale frustrated many Swift fans who couldn't get tickets, Ticketmaster will next distribute a controlled rollout of sales through its verified fan program. Registration there is currently open until 5:00 PM Eastern Time on August 5th, that's tomorrow, for all the newly announced shows. It doesn't matter when you register, as long as it's before the window closes and fans can register at ticketmaster.com. You'll then receive an email on Tuesday, August 8th, to notify if you've been selected for sale or placed on a wait list. If selected, you'll then receive a unique access code to buy the tickets during a specific time period. You can read more with a link in today's show notes. Good luck, Swifties.

And before we go, today is National Coast Guard Day, celebrating and honoring the courageous work of the service members of the Coast Guard. The US Coast Guard is one of the six armed forces, and while the service is a branch of the military, it also has multiple missions. During peace time it operates under the Department of Homeland Security, but their responsibilities can be transferred to the Navy at any time deemed necessary, or by Congress during war times.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. We're produced by Shannon Rae Green and our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Special thanks to Cherie Saunders and Mark Sovel. I'm Taylor Wilson, back tomorrow with another episode of 5 Things.

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