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Jul 07, 2023

Up First briefing: Trump trial date; Jacksonville shooting; Maui surf lessons : NPR

Suzanne Nuyen 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.

Suzanne Nuyen

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.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to announce today a tentative start date for the Justice Department's election conspiracy trial against former President Donald Trump. His lawyers have asked for an April 2026 trial date, citing the need to review millions of pages of documents. The special counsel team says it's ready for a January 2024 trial. Here's where Trump's civil and criminal suits stand so far.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. Chutkan has been assigned to the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump. AP hide caption

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. Chutkan has been assigned to the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump.

Residents in Jacksonville, Fla., are mourning after a gunman killed three Black people at a Dollar General store before killing himself on Saturday. Officials say the gunman left behind writings filled with racial slurs, and the Justice Department is now investigating the shooting as a hate crime.

Students nationwide are returning to school during a summer of record-breaking heat waves, and many are returning to buildings without air conditioning. A 2020 report from the Government Accountability Office estimated that about 36,000 schools nationwide need HVAC system updates. Extreme heat is bad for both kids' health and academic performance.

Parts of Florida could feel the effects of Tropical Storm Idalia as early as tomorrow, and the storm could reach hurricane strength before making landfall this week. If it hits the state at hurricane strength, it would be the first Atlantic hurricane to strike the U.S. this year.

Pro surfers organized a Saturday morning surf session to help kids do something they love at Ho'okipa Beach on the island's north shore. It's about an hour's drive from Lahaina. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

Pro surfers organized a Saturday morning surf session to help kids do something they love at Ho'okipa Beach on the island's north shore. It's about an hour's drive from Lahaina.

A group of pro surfers gathered at Ho'okipa Beach in Maui this weekend to help children and families cope with the immense losses of the wildfires through a surfing lesson. The nonprofit Boards 4 Buddies provided boards to kids who lost theirs in the recent fires. See photos from the event and read about how it helped families have a break with their kids amid the tragedy.

In this Friday, Sept. 29, 2017, photo, Lexi Montgomery poses with supplies she has purchased in the event of another storm, in Miami Beach, Fla. Hurricane Irma was the first hurricane that Montgomery ever experienced. Alan Diaz/AP hide caption

In this Friday, Sept. 29, 2017, photo, Lexi Montgomery poses with supplies she has purchased in the event of another storm, in Miami Beach, Fla. Hurricane Irma was the first hurricane that Montgomery ever experienced.

Natural disasters like Tropical Storm Idalia, Hurricane Hilary, or the wildfires that devastated Hawaii can happen anywhere with little to no warning. FEMA and the Red Cross recommend that everyone have an emergency go bag prepared. Here's how to pack one:

Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria as seen under a microscope. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 68 people have become infected with a drug-resistant strain of the bacteria, with many infections linked to the use of contaminated eye drops. Janice Haney Carr/AP hide caption

Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria as seen under a microscope. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 68 people have become infected with a drug-resistant strain of the bacteria, with many infections linked to the use of contaminated eye drops.

This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.