New evidence in Jan. 6 case; Tyre Nichols trial : NPR

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Today’s top stories

The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 case has unsealed a new court filing revealing more details about Trump’s charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Prosecutors say they have sufficient evidence to convict him, even after the Supreme Court ruled this summer that presidents enjoy broad immunity for official acts while in office but not for unofficial acts as a candidate or a private citizen.

• 🎧 The filing reveals former Vice President Mike Pence took extensive notes about meetings with Trump and outside advisers, NPR’s Carrie Johnson tells Up First. Prosecutors say Trump himself tweeted an attack on Pence from the White House on Jan. 6 while rioters were storming the Capitol. Trump’s campaign alleges the court filing is an attempt to meddle in November’s elections and favor Vice President Harris. If Trump is re-elected, it is likely that he will instruct new Justice Department officials to dismiss the case.

The Israeli military said yesterday that eight of its soldiers were killed in the ground invasion into Southern Lebanon. The “limited” incursion is part of Israel’s campaign against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Last night, Israel hit another building in central Beirut. Lebanese health authorities say that nearly 1,400 people have been killed in less than a month.

• 🎧 Israel ordered some 50 villages in Lebanon to evacuate, NPR’s Eyder Peralta says. The evacuation orders almost reach into the central part of the country. “The fear is that this will turn into a prolonged war that could engulf the whole of Lebanon,” Peralta adds. Hezbollah provided reporters with a tour of the damage in Dahieh, the neighborhood where a blast killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. “As you get close to the site of a blast, you see all these fragments of life strewn in the middle of the streets,” Peralta says. “It feels like almost everyone in this neighborhood has left.”

Jury deliberations are set to begin today in the high-profile police brutality case related to the death of Tyre Nichols. Police video shows officers beating Nichols, a Black man they pulled over during a 2023 traffic stop. He died three days later. The three fired detectives — Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean, and Demetrius Haley — are accused of several felonies, including depriving Nichols of his civil rights by excessive use of force, conspiring to cover up the attack and obstruct justice and more.

• 🎧 NPR’s Debbie Elliott reports that two of the officers pleaded guilty and testified against the others during the trial. Federal prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert urged jurors to trust their eyes when watching the footage that shows officers attacking Nichols and seemingly bragging about the beating as he gasps for his life. The defense lawyers say that it was a high-risk traffic stop and their clients acted reasonably after Nichols ran a red light and failed to stop for police.

Deep dive

When fentanyl began to spread in the American street drug supply, most experts believed it was unstoppable. Some of the most sophisticated and ruthless criminal gangs in the world operate the supply chain that fuels the demand for this deadly synthetic drug. Over the past six months, Dan Ciccarone, a physician and street drug researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, heard from experts who have noticed fewer overdoses and a significant decrease in the presence of fentanyl. This mirrors what Ciccarone’s team saw in areas where illicit fentanyl had been flowing for years.

• 💊 Drug gangs appear to be “adulterating” or weakening the potency of the fentanyl being sold. They often use an industrial chemical known as BTMPS to water it down.
• 💊 Some drug policy experts believe the shift in the fentanyl supply is a factor in the sudden national decline in fentanyl-related deaths. It dropped by roughly 10% last year, according to the CDC.
• 💊 The crackdown on Mexican drug cartels that smuggle this drug into the U.S. could also be impacting the supply chain.
• 💊 Dan Salter, who leads a federal task force targeting drug traffickers, says this trend is likely temporary and a modest supply disruption.

Life advice

The biggest threat in a hurricane isn’t the wind, but the water that accompanies it. With two months remaining in hurricane season, it’s important to understand that flooding from heavy rain can occur at any time and in any location, especially as climate change makes heavy rainfall more frequent. As the water subsides, the slow process of recovery begins. Here’s what you need to know to prepare for floodwaters and how to begin the process of picking up the pieces afterward:

• 🌧️ If your house is flooded, check first for damaged power and gas lines, and cracks in the foundation to make sure it’s safe to go inside.
• 🌧️ If there’s no standing water inside, turn off the electricity at the circuit breaker. Contact the fire department if you smell natural gas or propane, or hear a hissing sound.
• 🌧️Couldn’t evacuate? Remember, flood water is dangerous. If possible, wait for the water to recede or for help to arrive.
• 🌧️ Document how high the water got for insurance claims or federal assistance. Take plenty of photos inside and outside the home.

Here’s the complete list of tips to help you if your home is flooded.

3 things to know before you go

1. Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis has ended his seven-year retirement from acting to appear in Anemone, a film directed by his son, Ronan. The pair co-wrote the film.
2. Mark Chavez, a doctor accused of giving ketamine to Friends star Matthew Perry has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute the drug. Perry died in October 2023.
3. A New Jersey appeals court sided with Uber, ruling that a couple can’t sue over a near-fatal car crash because they agreed to the app’s terms and conditions. The couple claims their daughter agreed to the terms while ordering from Uber Eats.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.