New charges against Trump; Paralympic opening ceremony: NPR

Good morning. You are reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox and Hear to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today's top stories

Prosecutors have filed further charges against former President Donald Trump in the election interference caseWeeks after the Supreme Court granted the former president broad immunity from prosecution, court documents show the new indictment was handed down to a grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in the Jan. 6 case. The core charges in the Washington, D.C.-based case remain the same: conspiracy to defraud the United States and deprive millions of voters of their rights in 2020.

• 🎧 NPR’s Carrie Johnson tells First The biggest change in the new indictment is that the allegations that Trump abused the Justice Department to bolster claims of election fraud have been deleted. In court filings, special counsel Jack Smith said this latest action is an attempt to respect and implement the Supreme Court's rulings. The new charges define when prosecutors believe Trump acted as a candidate seeking political office, not as president. If he wins the election in November, Trump could order the Justice Department to drop the case. If he loses, the legal wrangling could become even more intense, according to Johnson.

Two members of Trump's campaign team got into a verbal and physical altercation with an official at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday while Trump was attending a ceremony. in honor of 13 soldiers killed in Afghanistan in 2021. Campaign officials vehemently deny this. NPR learned that a cemetery official had tried to prevent Trump staff from filming and taking photographs in an area where recently killed Americans are buried. Arlington Cemetery officials had already clarified their rules before the visit.

• 🎧 Trump's motorcade arrived with several members of the Gold Star family whose relatives are buried at the cemetery.says NPR's Quil Lawrence. The campaign team brought a staffer to film the visit. When a cemetery official tried to stop her, she was verbally attacked and pushed aside. Trump's campaign says they are prepared to release footage showing there was no physical altercation. The cemetery confirmed the incident and a report was filed.

The Paralympic Games begin tonight in Paris. Around 4,400 athletes will compete in almost 200 competitions over the next week and a half. The participating athletes have all overcome enormous challenges in their lives, including limb amputations or diseases that have left them blind. They will compete in 22 different sports, most of which have an Olympic equivalent. In total, almost 550 medals will be awarded.

• 🎧 The Americans are not quite as strong at the Paralympics as they are at the Olympic Gamessays NPR's Becky Sullivan. China has won the most gold medals and medals overall in recent decades. Sullivan says viewers should pay attention to 24-year-old swimmer Ali Truwit of Connecticut, who has been a competitive swimmer her entire life. Last year, her left leg was amputated below the knee after she was bitten by a shark. She is competing in three events.
• ➡️ Here is everything you need to learn more about the Paralympic Games and how you can watch.

Deep insight

Medical professionals and students take part in a protest against the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata on August 21. India's Supreme Court on August 20 ordered a national task force to study how to improve the safety of healthcare workers after the “gruesome” rape and murder of a doctor sparked doctors' strikes and angry protests.

Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images

Hide caption

Show/hide label

Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images

A young woman was raped and murdered while taking a break from a 36-hour shift at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, India. Earlier this month, she was found with serious injuries in the hospital's seminar room. The case has once again brought to the fore concerns about the safety of women in the country – especially women in the health care sector. In addition to protests for better safety measures for women, medical professionals are speaking out about the lack of respect in their workplace.

• ⚕️ Women report being harassed at work by colleagues and patients.
• ⚕️ Nationwide anger was sparked by the increasing frequency The number of reports of sexual crimes against women in India rose from 25,000 rape cases in 2012 to 31,000 a decade later.
• ⚕️ The Indian Medical Association, one of the largest doctors' unions in the country, is calling for enhanced safety protocols which are “nothing less than an airport” for all hospitals.
• ⚕️ These security concerns have attracted attention to India’s low female employment rate.

Listen today

Professional entertainer and wrestler Hulk Hogan poses while speaking on stage during the fourth day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

Hide caption

Show/hide label

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

Celebrities have been endorsing presidential candidates for over a century. Today, Trump has Rosanne Barr and Hulk Hogan on his side, while Vice President Harris has George Clooney and Beyoncé on her side. The rich and famous have the ability to move audiences, but can they also influence the polls and decide an election?

3 things you should know before your trip

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered nearly $5 million worth of methamphetamine disguised as watermelons at a checkpoint in San Diego on August 16.

US Customs and Border Protection

Hide caption

Show/hide label

US Customs and Border Protection

1. A man driving a semi-trailer attempted to transport $5 million worth of methamphetamine from Mexico to the USA, disguised as a watermelon harvest.
2. In 2014, Ian Sandler's 9-year-old daughter Riley was spending the summer at camp when she suffered a medical emergency around 1:30 a.m. The hospital was hours away and Ian was too shaken to drive himself, so he booked an Uber. The driver, his unsung hero, was compassionate, something Ian remembers from that devastating time.
3. Naomi Osaka reaches the second round of the US Open after defeating number 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko. It is her first win against a top 10 opponent in four years.

This newsletter was published by Susanne Nuyen.