Manhunt ends after Cavalcante capture, Biden's polling low on economy: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: USA TODAY Breaking News Reporter Jorge L. Ortiz breaks down the capture of an escaped convict in Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden faces tough polling numbers on the economy. USA TODAY White House Correspondent Joey Garrison looks at the Biden administration's plan to bring green jobs to communities 'left behind.' A federal judge in Texas rules that the DACA policy violates federal law. U.S. school shootings hit an all-time high for a second year in a row.

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 Thursday the 14th of September 2023.

Today, an escaped convict has been captured in Pennsylvania. Plus, rough polling numbers for Biden. And we look at the latest court decision around the DACA immigration policy.

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Nearly two weeks after breaking out of a Pennsylvania prison, convicted murderer, Danelo Cavalcante was captured yesterday. I spoke with USA Today Breaking News Reporter, Jorge L. Ortiz, about how he was caught and the relief for a local community. Jorge, thanks for hopping on 5 Things.

Jorge L. Ortiz:

Of course. Happy to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

So starting here before we get to the capture, how did Cavalcante actually escape from prison in the first place?

Jorge L. Ortiz:

We've seen recent video of it and it's really remarkable how fairly easy it was. He did what they call a crawl-walk in between two walls. And when you see the video, you're amazed at how quickly he goes up and then he powers through some razor wire, climbed on the roof, I think he met up with some more razor wire, and clearly was determined enough not to let that stop him. And so, once he got out there, he's been very crafty in dodging the authorities.

Taylor Wilson:

So he's finally been caught after about a two-week manhunt. How did authorities finally end up catching him?

Jorge L. Ortiz:

Well, it was a combination of, first of all, the overwhelming resources. They had about 500 officers, technology, and police dogs. Early in the morning, around 1:00 AM or so, there was a burglar alarm that went off that gave the authorities a hint as to where he might be. And then they had a plane go over with thermal imaging technology that picked up a heat signal from him. They possibly could have tried to catch him at that time, but there was terrible weather, so the plane had to return and land. They had a better idea of where he might be, so they just surrounded him. They brought in all the resources quietly. They used the element of surprise. They spotted him. He still had his rifle, and so they sent the police dog after him, and the dog was the one that essentially detained him.

Taylor Wilson:

And Jorge, I'm sure they would have liked to catch him sooner. How did Cavalcante evade capture for, what, a couple of weeks?

Jorge L. Ortiz:

It looks like a big factor in his ability to elude them was the terrain. It was very wooded. He apparently didn't have a cell phone that could emit signals that they could track. So from all reports I've seen, he had escaped also when he had a 2017 murder charge in Brazil, and he had gone into the woods into a forested area. So he clearly has some experience doing this.

Taylor Wilson:

Wow. And as you mentioned, he's accused of murder back in his native Brazil. Will he now be deported there, or what's next for him?

Jorge L. Ortiz:

Most likely not, because he's facing life imprisonment here in the US. They don't have such a thing in Brazil. So even if he were convicted in Brazil from that 2017 murder charge, and it is possible to do it remotely, there would be no reason to send him someplace where he would face a lesser charge or lesser punishment. So chances are he's going to serve it out here in the US.

Taylor Wilson:

And Jorge, for residents in this part of Pennsylvania, how big of a relief is it that he's been found?

Jorge L. Ortiz:

Oh, it's massive. We've heard comments already from some of the residents around there. They feel kind of terrorized. Their kids couldn't go to some schools because they were closed, roads were closed as well. It was traumatizing, in the words of one of the residents. So, to finally know this guy has been captured. He's now getting moved from County to State Prison where you would think he'd be facing some very tight security. So it's an enormous sigh of relief for them.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Jorge Ortiz covers Breaking News for USA Today. Thank you, Jorge.

Jorge L. Ortiz:

Happy to be here. Thanks so much.

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Taylor Wilson:

President Joe Biden continues to try and sell his so-called Bidenomics policies as fuel for an economic rebound, but many Americans aren't buying his message, according to an exclusive poll from the Suffolk University, Sawyer Business School, and USA Today. According to the poll, nearly 70% of Americans say the economy is getting worse, and 84% say their cost of living is rising. The White House has tried getting credit for an unemployment rate that's near a 50-year low and a robust job market, but 59% disapprove of Biden's handling of the economy. And maybe most concerning for the President, more Americans said they trust former President Donald Trump than Biden to improve the economy, by a 47 to 36% margin. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

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Amid rough polling numbers, President Joe Biden is hoping that a series of clean energy projects could help bring green jobs to American small towns that have been abandoned by industry. I spoke with USA Today White House Correspondent, Joey Garrison, about the projects.

Hey there, Joey. Thanks for hopping on.

Joey Garrison:

Hey. Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So, Biden is touting this future battery plant in rural West Virginia. What's the plan here, Joey, and how does this fit in with hundreds of clean energy projects that are part of his Inflation Reduction Act?

Joey Garrison:

Yeah. So, the battery plant in Weirton, West Virginia, and it's actually the Upper Peninsula of West Virginia. It's kind of sandwiched in between Ohio and Pennsylvania, the real steel country part of the US there. And it's one of many hundreds of projects that Biden is touting as part of his Inflation Reduction Act. These are clean energy companies that are partly funded through incentives from that law that was passed last year. And one of the things that Biden has been pitching was this idea of turning around these depleted communities where manufacturing sector has vanished and making that the new hotbeds of a clean energy future.

And so, myself and my colleague, Maureen Groppe, decided to go to one of these places. We went to Weirton, West Virginia where Form Energy is creating a new cutting-edge battery plan. And really, it's not just any batteries. I won't go too much into the science, but it can store electricity for days and days, and it really makes renewable power generated from wind, water, and sun more readily available and around for a long period of time.

Taylor Wilson:

Joey, as you say, you were there in West Virginia on the ground. What do local residents say about this project?

Joey Garrison:

Weirton is an old steel city that used to have 13,000 people working in steel. It's now down to fewer than 1,000. I mean, it's just been a steady decline over decades and decades. What we found is everyone there seems generally excited about this project, but they're not necessarily connecting it to President Biden and his Inflation Reduction Act. Some weren't even aware that it was getting funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. And then secondly, they see this as maybe something that can help them down the road, spur more economic development, but it doesn't help their immediate future. Across the country, of course, people are still struggling with rising costs, inflation that still isn't back to where it was. It's hurt people in real depressed communities like this more than others.

Taylor Wilson:

What's the political risk that Biden takes when investing in places that have been, as you put in the story, left behind?

Joey Garrison:

This is a deeply conservative red area. West Virginia used to be a democratic stronghold, actually. I mean, it worked for Kennedy, it helped him win the election. But really, since Obama became President, it's become more and more red. They, of course, voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, not for Joe Biden. And so, he is putting a lot of his stake investments into these areas. It's something that Biden has acknowledged when he talks about Bidenomics, and says, "Look, I'm the President of the United States, and that means that for everybody, red and blue America." But nevertheless, it's not necessarily going to be a political win in those places.

And secondly, I think the disconnect that I've discovered in reporting, from what Biden is doing here, is he's talking really about long-term investments when you're talking about using incentives to create all these clean energy factories. I mean, the one we went to at Weirton, it's not even open yet. It's not going to be open for a couple more years. You're really talking about a decade-long transformation for a problem that's really right now in the immediacy, right in people's pocketbooks where they're having trouble to pay for things. And so, there's sort of a disconnect between the President's economic message and what the challenges people are facing every day.

Now, today, President Biden is going to be giving what the White House is billing as a major speech on the economy, where I think he's going to try to reposition, reframe the narrative about Bidenomics. And in doing so, he's going to contrast that against what he's going to call Magenomics, tying the Republican philosophy, what he's going to call trickle-down economics to the former president. So that's something to watch out for

Taylor Wilson:

USA Today White House Correspondent, Joey Garrison. Thanks, as always.

Joey Garrison:

Hey, thank you.

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Taylor Wilson:

A federal judge in Texas yesterday ruled that an Obama-era policy that protects undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children violates federal law. It's the latest setback for so-called dreamers under the DACA policy in a case that'll likely be decided by the Supreme Court. DACA, created by former President Barack Obama, halted deportations and granted work permits to certain children brought to the country as undocumented immigrants. But the program was created through executive action and has been at the center of court battles for years. Yesterday's ruling, which the Biden administration is expected to appeal, does not require that the government take action against current DACA recipients, but it would bar the government from approving new applications. Supporters of the program, including President Joe Biden, say the policy helps people who had no choice about entering the US and may have little connection to their birth country. Critics say it forces taxpayers to shoulder the cost of social services for people in the country illegally.

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The number of school shootings in the US has hit an all time high again. According to new federal data, there were 188 shootings with casualties at public and private elementary schools during the 2021 to 2022 school year. It's the second year in a row that the number of shootings with casualties hit an all-time peak in US schools. The data comes as part of the National Center for Education Statistics Annual Crime and Safety Report, which was published on Wednesday. The report also found that the majority of people responsible for active shooting incidents at elementary and secondary schools over the past two decades were male, and most were between the ages of 12 and 18. Earlier this year, a national NPR PBS NewsHour Marist Poll found that 6 in 10 Americans think that controlling gun violence is more important than gun rights.

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And before we go, the news can sometimes be overwhelming for folks, but today is National R U OK Day in Australia. It seems like a good tradition we could take up here in the US too. So consider calling your mom, checking on a neighbor, or sending a card to ask if you're doing okay.

And thanks for listening to 5 Things. If you like the show, please subscribe and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And if you have any comments, you can email us at [email protected]. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.