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U.S., Russia agree to prisoner swap to free Americans Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and others
The Biden administration has agreed to a prisoner exchange with Russia and is expected to soon secure the release of three American citizens imprisoned in Russia including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine veteran Paul Whelan, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a senior administration official confirms. The swap would be part of an historically complex 24-person prisoner swap between the U.S., Russia, Germany and three other Western countries.
The exchange has not occurred yet.
Whelan and Gershkovich were both imprisoned in Russia on accusations of espionage that were consistently disputed by the United States. Kurmasheva, a dual American and Russian citizen, was detained in Russia in June of 2023 on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army.
As part of the deal, at least 12 political prisoners held in Russia are expected to be released to Germany. Eight Russian nationals are expected to be returned to Russia, including several with suspected ties to Russian intelligence. Among the Russian nationals expected to be involved in the swap is Vadim Krasikov, a convicted murderer who has been serving a life sentence for a 2019 killing in Germany that the judges said had been ordered by Russian federal authorities.
Kremlin critic and Washington Post contributor Vladimir Kara-Murza is expected to be flown to the U.S. Kara-Murza is a British-Russian citizen and a green card holder. His family lives in the U.S.
Details of the deal, which was coordinated by a number of U.S. government agencies including the White House, State Department and Central Intelligence Agency, were closely held, but speculation about the swap had mounted over several days after prominent Russian political prisoners, including Kara-Murza, were moved from their prisons.
The White House, State Department and CIA did not immediately return a request for comment.
When asked about the movement of Russian prisoners on Wednesday, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said, “I don’t want to speculate on any reasoning. What I can say is that the United States continues to be focused on working around the clock to work to get our wrongfully detained American citizens home. And that continues to be the case, but no updates beyond that.”
Speaking earlier this month at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration was “determined” to make a deal happen for Americans in Russia.
“[W]e are determined to make it happen,” he said on July 19 in response to a question about Gershkovich. “And I will consider it one of the most important things between now and the end of the year, and especially now at the end of the month, for us to try to get something done where we can get him home.”
Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter, was taken into Russian custody while on assignment in Yekaterinburg March 2023. Russian authorities charged him with espionage, drawing immediate condemnation from the U.S. government, which determined Gershkovich to be wrongfully detained.
In July, Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court. The U.S. called his hurried trial “a sham.”
Paul Whelan, a Marine veteran, was arrested in December 2018 when he was traveling in Russia to attend a friend’s wedding. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Whelan and his family have vehemently denied the espionage allegations against him and said he was being used as a political pawn by Russia. Whelan was left out of several previous prisoner swaps with Russia under both the Trump and Biden administrations.
Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, whose office was an integral part of the team involved in negotiations, said at the Aspen conference on July 17, “I know Evan and Paul will come home to the United States and step onto U.S. soil.”
“I just don’t know when,” he added.
Tucker Reals contributed reporting.
The U.S. president hasn’t been given a raise in more than 20 years.
That means Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will earn the same salary as their predecessor: $400,000 a year, as specified in Title 3 of the U.S. Code, paid monthly. The president also gets an additional $50,000 for expenses (non-taxable), a $100,000 travel account and a $19,000 entertainment budget.
Of course, the nation’s commander in chief is also entitled to other benefits, not least of which is a paid-for mansion known as the White House, as a residence.
Between 1969 and 2001, the last time Congress boosted the chief executive’s pay, the president earned $200,000 annually. In a 1999 hearing on the proposed pay raise, it was noted that compensation for “one of the most difficult, demanding and important jobs on the face of the earth” had not risen in three decades, while the salaries of private-sector chief executive officers were soaring.
Government reform expert Paul C. Light testified that he supported a presidential salary increase “if only to signal that the American political system values its chief executive enough to occasionally boost the base salary.”
How much did U.S. presidents earn in the past?
Historically, the president’s annual salary was worth a lot more when taking inflation into account.
Here’s what presidents made per year during previous historical periods, according to the University of Michigan, citing Congressional Quarterly’s “Guide to the Presidency.” How much that pay is worth in today’s dollars, after adjusting for inflation and based on calculations from Officialdata.org, is noted in parentheses:
1789: $25,000 ($895,741)
1873: $50,000 ($1.3 million)
1909: $75,000 ($2.6 million)
1949: $100,000 (plus $50,000 taxable expense account) ($1.3 million)
1969: $200,000 (plus $50,000 taxable expense account) ($1.7 million)
More money in memoirs
It’s worth noting that presidents remain on the federal government’s payroll after leaving The White House too. Since 1958, former presidents have earned an annual pension, which now amounts to more than $200,000. They also get office space in a place of their choosing and travel expenses, according to the Former Presidents Act of 1958.
U.S. presidents also typically earn much more money when they leave office through book sales, speaking engagements, media deals and other lucrative endeavors.
Ulysses S. Grant was the first U.S. president to write a memoir, which he famously finished only days before his death in 1885. Virtually every modern president, with the exception of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, both of whom died while in office, has written a memoir.
“It’s where a lot of money comes from after they have been president,” Barbara Perry, co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, told CBS MoneyWatch. “Written memoirs have earned them millions.”
CBS News
Man dies after being “buried under hot asphalt” while trying to fix dump truck in Mississippi
Police in Mississippi’s capital said a man died Monday when he was trying to repair a dump truck and asphalt poured onto him.
Darrell Sheriff, 41, was underneath the truck working on a hydraulic line when the tailgate opened and asphalt fell on him, Jackson Police Department said in a statement. Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade told reporters that officers found Sheriff, who was a private contractor, “buried under hot asphalt.”
“It appeared to be some type of malfunction with his dump truck,” Wade said, adding it was a “horrific situation.”
The incident occurred at AJ Materials at around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, CBS affiliate WJTV reported.
#BREAKINGNEWS: A man died after he was buried under hot asphalt in Jackson. https://t.co/26CHfWF3XA pic.twitter.com/W45ifixH9u
— WJTV 12 News (@WJTV) November 4, 2024
Wade said people on scene tried to help Sheriff and “he tried to fight to make it through those injuries but it was just too enormous for him to survive.”
The police chief said the incident left witnessess and family members traumatized.
Wade said that family members said Sheriff was a “good, hardworking family man who just trying to make a living.”
The police department classified the death as an accident.
Election Day 2024 is expected to bring out tens of millions of people to their polling places, and many may also want to know what’s open or closed if they need to run errands, like shopping or getting to the post office.
While the Tuesday after the first Monday in November is designated for federal, state and local general elections, it is not a federal holiday. But some state offices will be closed, while workers in 28 states are guaranteed voting leave to take time off from work to cast their ballots.
That may leave some Americans to question whether they’ll find their local stores, banks, post offices, DMV and other services open on November 5. At the same time, some schools are closed on Election Day, partly as some educational facilities double as polling stations.
Are banks open on Election Day 2024?
Yes, banks and ATMs will be open on Election Day, given that it’s not a federal holiday, nor observed by the Federal Reserve system.
Wells Fargo, Citi and other major banks will be open on Nov. 5, according to their schedules. However, those banks and others will be closed Nov. 11, due to Veterans Day, which is a federal holiday.
Is the Post Office open on Election Day 2024?
Yes, the U.S. Postal Service will be open on Nov. 5 because it isn’t a federal holiday.
The USPS will also be delivering ballots mailed ahead of Election Day, although the postal service recommended that people who are voting by mail post their ballot by Oct. 29, or last Tuesday, to ensure timely delivery.
USPS workers will be delivering regular residential and business mail on Nov. 5, while its stores and other locations will be operating with their normal hours.
Is the DMV open on Election Day 2024?
Some states recognize Election Day as a public holiday, which means some offices there, including Department of Motor Vehicle offices, may be closed on November 5. U.S. states where DMV locations will be closed on Nov. 5 include:
- Delaware
- Illinois
- New Jersey
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Other municipal; offices could also be closed in these and other states or cities that observe Election Day as a holiday. For instance, New York state and city courts will be closed on Nov. 5, as well as New York City offices.
Are any retailers closed on Election Day 2024?
Stores are generally open on Election Day given that it’s not a federal holiday. Among those that will be open are Costco, Walmart and Target.
However, some stores may have modified hours to accommodate workers who are voting. For instance, Bath & Body Works locations will open at noon on Nov. 5, rather than the retailer’s regular 10 a.m. opening time.
Are bars and liquor stores open on Election Day 2024?
Yes, bars and liquor stores are open on Election Day, although that wasn’t always the case in some states.
South Carolina repealed its ban on liquor sales on Election Day in 2014, with the state joining the rest of the nation in permitting spirits and other drinks to be sold on voting day.
That ban, which dated to the 1800s, was designed to reduce bribery and corruption during elections, Reuters reported. Election Day bans on alcohol sales were once common in the U.S. because of fears that politicians would buy votes by providing drinks, according to the New York Times
