Up First briefing: Extreme heat and hospitals; Trump faces new charges; summer reads

By Anandita Bhalerao

Published July 28, 2023 at 8:22 AM EDT

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks to members of the media at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 24, 2023.

Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today's top stories

Congress and the Biden administration have until September 30 to avoid a government shutdown. President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement to avoid this scenario just last month, but some House Republicans made additions to the bills that will make passing them more controversial.

On Up First this morning, NPR's Susan Davis says this time, "it's not just a disagreement on how much money to spend." For example, the Anti-Woke Caucus, comprising about two dozen Republicans, lobbied to "eliminate any money for things that they say promote far left ideology on race and gender." Besides facing pressure from hard-line Republicans, McCarthy may also need the support of Democrats in the House. That's one of the reasons why, Davis says, "no one is confident a shutdown can be avoided."

Many people are suffering from heat fatigue and heat strokes because of the extreme summer temperatures this year. In New Orleans, Gulf States Newsroom's Drew Hawkins reports some hospitals are even cooling people down by putting them in body bags filled with ice.

Hawkins says: "Extreme heat events like heat waves and heat domes will become more frequent and intense in the future. And for New Orleans, more heat also means more hurricanes. And that can cause even more strain on hospitals."

Hazing lawsuits against Northwestern University's sports programs are mounting, and experts hope universities across the country are taking note.

Over the last few weeks, former athletes in Northwestern's football, baseball and volleyball teams have made allegations of hazing and bullying, resulting in a series of lawsuits against the university and the termination of two head coaches.

Former President Donald Trump is facing additional charges in special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents. A new defendant was also added to the indictment against Trump and his aide Walt Nauta.

NPR's Carrie Johnson reports the new count relates to allegations involving a top-secret presentation Trump waved at aides at his Bedminster, N.J., resort.

Here's where the criminal and civil cases facing Trump stand so far.

From our hosts

This essay was written by A Martinez. He came to NPR in 2021 and is one of Morning Edition and Up First's hosts. He was previously the host of Take Two at LAist in Los Angeles.

I spoke only Spanish until I started first grade. That's where I learned English but I was still speaking Spanish every single day at home until college. Sometimes days or weeks would go by without speaking Spanish. I didn't know it then but I started to slip into becoming a version of what's known today as a "No Sabo kid": someone of Latin American heritage who isn't as fluent in Spanish as they thought they were.

I'm definitely not alone: I've met many people over the years who've felt ashamed or have been shamed for letting their Spanish slip, as if somehow they were a disgrace to their culture. I spoke to Lucia Lainez about this. She's a bilingual speech-language pathologist and a second generation Nicaraguan who's felt self-conscious since she was a kid because anytime she'd try to speak Spanish her accent was made fun of. She said she now feels like she's becoming her most authentic self accepting what her journey has been, and that "being bilingual does not equate to being bicultural." I love that. Even if I couldn't speak a word of Spanish, I wouldn't feel any less connected to my culture. So if you're a "No Sabo" kid, don't be ashamed to own it.

Weekend Picks

Teyonah Parris as Yo-Yo, Jamie Foxx as Slick Charles and John Boyega as Fontaine in <em>They Cloned Tyrone.</em> — Teyonah Parris as Yo-Yo, Jamie Foxx as Slick Charles and John Boyega as Fontaine in *They Cloned Tyrone.*

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

Movies: For a funky sci-fi mystery, watch Netflix's They Cloned Tyrone. John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx play a drug dealer, a sex worker, and a pimp uncovering a government conspiracy against their community.

TV: The second season of 'Dark Winds', a show about two Navajo cops on a reservation in New Mexico, is as much an exploration of Navajo culture and identity as it is about finding the bad guys.

Books: Who says books about race can't be beach reads? NPR's Code Switch brings you a summer reading list that spans genres but has one thing in common: they all have something to say about race.

Music: Joni Mitchell's surprise performance at the Newport Folk Festival last year has been immortalized in the album 'At Newport'. Annie Zaleski writes that it marks a new stage for Mitchell's career and legacy.

The central business district is shrouded by haze in Singapore, on Sept. 23, 2019. Singapore conducted its first execution of a woman in 19 years on Friday, July 28, 2023, and its second hanging this week for drug trafficking despite calls for the city-state to cease capital punishment for drug-related crimes.

3 things to know before you go

Singapore executed its first woman in nearly two decades for drug trafficking. Anti-death penalty advocates argue the harsh penalty doesn't actually deter the use or availability of drugs.

Airplanes will now need to have at least one bathroom that fits both someone in a wheelchair and a flight attendant, according to new rules from the Department of Transportation.

When Julia Minson's mother was sick, she found an experimental drug that she thought could save her. Her mom's doctor didn't think it was a good idea, but the empathy she showed Minson left a lasting impression.

This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.