A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
It feels just like the passing of O.J. Simpson closed a chapter in Los Angeles historical past, one, although, that also leaves a way that there’s nonetheless quite a bit that may by no means be resolved.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
His household introduced yesterday that he died of most cancers. Final century, he was a well-known and notorious determine as an athlete, an actor and homicide suspect.
MARTÍNEZ: Right here to look again at his cultural legacy is NPR’s Mandalit del Barco, who reported on the Simpson saga within the Nineteen Nineties. Mandalit, earlier than the freeway chase, earlier than the so-called trial of the century, O.J. was already well-known in so some ways.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: That is proper, A. , O.J. Simpson began off as a star soccer participant at USC, incomes a Heisman Trophy. Then he went on to be a operating again within the NFL and a sports activities commentator. , he was good-looking and with a famously nice smile. And after his soccer profession, Hollywood ate him up. He starred in commercials, sprinting by airports. He was within the TV collection “Roots,” and he had components in films like “The Towering Inferno” and “The Bare Gun” comedies.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, “THE NAKED GUN: FROM THE FILES OF POLICE SQUAD!”)
OJ SIMPSON: (As Detective Nordberg) Police. Throw down your weapons.
DEL BARCO: Audiences beloved him, and that is why it was so stunning what got here subsequent.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, he appeared like somebody that might be everybody’s good friend. Now, that subsequent is turning into the No. 1 suspect within the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her good friend Ronald Goldman. That was 1994. Mandalit, you coated that story for NPR. I imply, it was simply an enormous deal.
DEL BARCO: It was. It was large. And listeners might bear in mind – you in all probability bear in mind – after Simpson turned a needed man, he went lacking. After which he emerged as a passenger in a white Ford Bronco on the freeways of Los Angeles, getting chased by police. Ninety-five million individuals had been transfixed by the sluggish automobile chase that was broadcast stay on nationwide tv. Here is a clip from the CNN particular with Eric Spillman from KTLA.
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ERIC SPILLMAN: Folks have pulled over, a lot of them carrying indicators studying issues like save the juice, go O.J. Individuals are actually cheering him on.
DEL BARCO: , some individuals noticed Simpson as a type of people hero on the run. And as a reporter, I do not suppose I had a cellphone then. However I adopted the helicopters to his mansion, the place a crowd of individuals had gathered, some with youngsters on their shoulders, to see what would occur subsequent. Simpson sat in his automobile within the driveway pointing a gun to his head, and he ultimately surrendered.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, O.J.’s good friend Al Cowlings was driving the white Ford Bronco. O.J. was within the again the entire time.
DEL BARCO: Proper.
MARTÍNEZ: After which there was his homicide trial the next yr, which was one other large media second.
DEL BARCO: Yeah, it was known as the trial of the century. And it felt like the entire nation was glued to the TV to observe it unfold stay. Everybody concerned turned a popular culture icon – the choose, the prosecutors and Simpson’s legal professionals, together with Robert Kardashian, father to the now well-known Kardashian household, additionally his showy lawyer Johnnie Cochran. He famously requested Simpson to strive carrying as soon as bloody gloves discovered on the crime scene. Here is Cochran in his closing argument.
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JOHNNIE COCHRAN: It is mindless. It does not match. If it does not match, you will need to acquit.
MARTÍNEZ: And so they did acquit. Mandalit, the response to that second was very telling.
DEL BARCO: It was large all around the nation and it was considerably divided alongside racial strains. I interviewed some liberal white Angelenos who had been outraged. Here is a retired Hollywood accountant named Al (ph). NPR agreed on the time to not use his final title.
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AL: His trial was an enormous fraud, so far as I am involved. The man is as responsible as sin.
DEL BARCO: , however response was extra sophisticated for Black Angelenos I spoke to. Some instructed me that whether or not or not Simpson killed his ex-wife, they felt that for as soon as, justice was on the facet of an African American man. Here is a clip from Al Humphries (ph), a former sheriff’s deputy.
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AL HUMPHRIES: We stated, wow, at the least a Black man acquired away generally as a result of there’s lots of people, a variety of lifeless Black of us that no one ever went to jail for.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, Mandalit, O.J. lived almost 30 extra years in any case that. How related was he the remainder of his life?
DEL BARCO: Effectively, you recognize, after his civil trial, he type of light away from the general public for some time. He served 9 years in a Las Vegas jail for an armed theft and kidnapping at a lodge. And, A, the final time I noticed O.J. Simpson in individual, he was signing autographs at a horror movie conference at a suburban strip mall. And I believed that could be the final we heard from him. However in 2016, there was a extremely acclaimed TV miniseries about his trial and a documentary about him that received an Oscar. O.J. Simpson remained an enchanting and an advanced determine.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, fairly the unhappy saga throughout. That is NPR’s Mandalit del Barco in Los Angeles. Mandalit, thanks.
DEL BARCO: Thanks.
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MARTÍNEZ: Russia’s warfare of attrition in Ukraine seems to be succeeding in methods its army superiority has not.
FADEL: Greater than two years into its full-scale invasion, Russian troops at the moment are on the offensive and Ukrainian troopers are exhausted. So after months of deliberation, Ukraine’s parliament has adopted a legislation to mobilize a whole bunch of hundreds of latest troopers.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR’s Ukraine correspondent Joanna Kakissis joins us now. Joanna, it will possibly’t be good for a rustic making an attempt to win a warfare that they would wish extra troops as quickly as potential.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Sure, that is proper, tens of hundreds of Ukrainian troopers have been killed on this warfare. Tens of hundreds extra have been injured. Russia has extra assets, 4 occasions the inhabitants. And it is making an attempt to win by carrying down the Ukrainian army. , some Ukrainian troops have been on the entrance line for months, as much as two years. And to make issues worse, the Ukrainians haven’t got sufficient artillery shells to battle again or air protection missiles to guard themselves. The Russians are additionally dropping these guided bombs from fighter jets which can be simply destroying Ukrainian defenses.
MARTÍNEZ: And Ukrainian leaders suppose that this new conscription legislation will assist flip that round. How wouldn’t it try this?
KAKISSIS: So, A, the legislation lays the groundwork to draft extra military-aged males. They’d be required always to hold draft registration paperwork so conscripts can be simpler to seek out. If they do not, they may lose privileges, like they might be banned from driving. And lawmakers are additionally contemplating imposing fines for draft dodgers in a separate invoice.
MARTÍNEZ: All proper, so these are the sticks. Any carrots right here?
KAKISSIS: Yeah, the legislation additionally gives incentives to males who volunteer for service. For instance, they’ll get certificates to purchase a automobile or put down mortgage funds on a home. And in a single controversial transfer, the invoice additionally would permit convicts to serve in return for a suspended sentence. Beforehand, convicts had been banned from army service.
MARTÍNEZ: Wow. Now, you’ve got talked about how exhausted Ukrainian troops are from their very lengthy deployments. Does this legislation tackle that difficulty?
KAKISSIS: No. Although, lawmakers are contemplating a separate legislation about that. And, you recognize, lengthy deployments with no finish, that’s what individuals appear to be most upset about once we communicate with them. Households of troopers are involved that they are combating for thus lengthy – and like I stated, for 2 years and not using a actual break – that a few of these troopers are compelled to battle with accidents.
MARTÍNEZ: What are these households saying?
KAKISSIS: Our producer Polina Lytvynova spoke to Kateryna Ampilohohva (ph). She’s a school pupil. Kateryna talked about her godfather, who’s been stationed close to the Russian border. He was hospitalized after getting damage in motion and instructed he cannot convalesce for greater than two months.
KATERYNA AMPILOHOHVA: (Talking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: She’s saying he is anticipated to return to the place he was stationed on the border, even when he does not completely get better from his wounds. It doesn’t matter if he is healed as a result of they want him on the entrance line.
MARTÍNEZ: So these are the households. What concerning the younger males who may perhaps be drafted?
KAKISSIS: Yeah, we additionally spoke with Denys Monastyrnyi (ph), who will flip 25 in 4 months.
DENYS MONASTYRNYI: (Talking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lately signed one other legislation that lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25. Denys instructed us that he is able to serve however that he, too, worries about whether or not he’ll ever get a break. He stated there appears to be no finish to this warfare and it is extremely arduous to be on the entrance line on a regular basis, for months at a time with no finish.
MARTÍNEZ: Joanna, shortly, the draft age in Ukraine is 25. Why are youthful males in Ukraine exempted?
KAKISSIS: Ukraine does not have a lot of them. , Ukraine has a really low start price, drastic declines in start charges since the us’s collapse. And if Ukraine recruits a variety of younger males, it dangers decimating a complete technology.
MARTÍNEZ: That is NPR’s Joanna Kakissis. Thanks.
KAKISSIS: You are welcome.
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MARTÍNEZ: Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter and shut good friend is due in courtroom at this time after being charged with financial institution fraud.
FADEL: Federal prosecutors say Ippei Mizuhara stole greater than $16 million from Ohtani’s checking account, all as a result of he had run up large playing debt.
MARTÍNEZ: LAist reporter Yusra Farzan was on the information convention in downtown Los Angeles the place prosecutors introduced the costs yesterday. So inform us extra about these prices. I imply, financial institution fraud is fairly severe stuff.
YUSRA FARZAN, BYLINE: Proper, financial institution fraud is a felony offense that may carry a most sentence of 30 years in jail. Federal prosecutors say Mizuhara illegally transferred cash from Ohtani’s checking account to bookies. They are saying he started playing again in 2021, putting bets on sports activities, although not on baseball.
MARTÍNEZ: Proper, however then he started shedding all that cash.
FARZAN: Sure. And in accordance with the criticism, they are saying to repay his debt, Mizuhara siphoned off greater than $16 million from Ohtani’s account. Additionally they consider he spent about $325,000 of Ohtani’s cash on baseball playing cards bought by web sites like eBay and Whatnot.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, Ohtani and Mizuhara had been pals, however how did Mizuhara get entry to his account? As a result of I am not sharing my account with my pals.
FARZAN: So when Ohtani moved to America from Japan to play skilled baseball, he couldn’t communicate English. And prosecutors say that Mizuhara acted as his translator, but in addition his de facto supervisor. They are saying that Mizuhara helped Ohtani arrange a checking account and that he later used that info to vary the cellphone quantity and electronic mail tackle related to the account. That is how, they are saying, he gained entry to it. Here is one of many prosecutors, U.S. lawyer Martin Estrada.
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MARTIN ESTRADA: We have obtained recordings of phone calls wherein Mizuhara spoke with financial institution staff, lied to them about being Mr. Ohtani, gave private biographical info for Mr. Ohtani to be able to impersonate him and thereby persuade the financial institution to approve massive wire transfers of enormous quantities of cash to the bookmakers.
FARZAN: Estrada additionally stated that Mizuhara blocked Ohtani’s skilled advisers – together with his agent, accountant and monetary adviser – from having access to the account. None of them communicate Japanese. We did attain out to Mizuhara’s lawyer for remark and he declined.
MARTÍNEZ: All proper, so now for an enormous, key half on this. What did Ohtani know or did not find out about all this?
FARZAN: Effectively, Ohtani has stated publicly he was shocked by Mizuhara’s actions and had nothing to do with them. And U.S. lawyer Estrada stated yesterday that Ohtani is a sufferer on this case.
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ESTRADA: I wish to be clear that Mr. Ohtani has cooperated absolutely and fully on this investigation. He is not solely spoken to investigators, he is supplied entry to his digital gadgets, to his private info, to make sure that justice was achieved on this case.
FARZAN: Estrada says that they’ve gone by years of communication between Ohtani and Mizuhara, and that they have not discovered any proof that he knew about or was concerned in Mizuhara’s playing. Main League Baseball had initially stated they’d launch a probe into the playing incident, however after Thursday’s announcement, they stated they’d wait till the felony case is full.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. And Mizuhara is meant to give up on the courthouse later at this time, proper?
FARZAN: Sure, it is alleged to be a quick listening to. The U.S. lawyer’s workplace says he will not be requested to enter a plea to the financial institution fraud cost. Then they anticipate he’d be launched on bond.
MARTÍNEZ: That is LAist reporter Yusra Farzan. Thanks very a lot.
FARZAN: Thanks.
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