New evidence in the January 6 case; Tire Nichols Trial: NPR

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Today’s top stories

The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s case on January 6 has released a new court filing revealing more details about Trump’s case. allegations of attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Prosecutors say they have enough evidence to convict him even after the Supreme Court ruled this summer that presidents enjoy broad immunity for official actions while in office, but not for unofficial actions as candidates or private citizens.

Special counsel Jack Smith appealed the dismissal of the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• 🎧 The filing shows that former Vice President Mike Pence took extensive notes on meetings with Trump and outside adviserstells NPR’s Carrie Johnson Up first. Prosecutors say Trump himself tweeted an attack on Pence from the White House on Jan. 6 as rioters stormed the Capitol. Trump’s campaign claims the lawsuit is an attempt to interfere in the November election and favor Vice President Harris. If Trump is reelected, it is likely he will instruct new Justice Department officials to dismiss the case.

The Israeli army said this yesterday eight of his soldiers were killed in the ground invasion to South Lebanon. The “limited” raid is part of Israel’s campaign against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. Last night Israel hit another building in central Beirut. Lebanese health authorities say nearly 1,400 people have been killed in less than a month.

• 🎧 Israel has ordered about fifty villages in Lebanon to evacuatesays NPR’s Eyder Peralta. The evacuation orders extend almost to the central part of the country. “The fear is that this will turn into a protracted war that could engulf all of Lebanon,” Peralta added. Hezbollah gave reporters a tour of the damage in Dahieh, the neighborhood where an explosion killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. “When you get close to the blast site, you see all these fragments of life lying in the middle of the street,” Peralta says. “It feels like almost everyone in this neighborhood has left.”

Jury deliberations begin today in the high-profile police brutality case in connection with the death of Band Nichols. Police video shows officers beating Nichols, a Black man they stopped during a traffic stop in 2023. He died three days later. The three fired detectives – Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean and Demetrius Haley – are accused of several crimes, including depriving Nichols of his civil rights through excessive use of force, conspiring to cover up the attack and obstruction of justice and more.

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

Deep dive

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent checks the documentation of pedestrians at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on October 2 in San Ysidro, California.

Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

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Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent checks the documentation of pedestrians at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on October 2 in San Ysidro, California.

Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

When fentanyl began to proliferate in America’s street drug supply, most experts thought it was unstoppable. Some of the world’s most sophisticated and ruthless criminal gangs control the supply chain that drives 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 seem to ‘adulterate’ or weaken potency of the fentanyl being sold. They often use an industrial chemical known as BTMPS to tone it down.
• 💊 Some drug policy experts believe in this shift in the supply of fentanyl is a factor in the sudden national decline in fentanyl-related deaths. According to the CDC, it dropped about 10% last year.
• 💊 The crackdown on Mexican drug cartels who smuggle this drug into the US could also impact the supply chain.
• 💊 Dan Salter, who heads a federal task force targeting drug traffickers, says this trend is likely to be temporary and associated with modest supply disruption.

Life advice

Heavy rainfall from Hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, North Carolina.

Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

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Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

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

• 🌧️ First check whether your house is flooded damaged electrical and gas lines and cracks in the foundation to ensure it is safe to enter.
• 🌧️ If there is no standing water in it, turn off the electricity at the circuit breaker. Contact the fire department if you smell natural gas or propane or hear a hissing sound.
• 🌧️You couldn’t evacuate? Remember that flood water is dangerous. If possible, wait until the water has receded or help arrives.
• 🌧️ Document how high the water rose for insurance claims or federal assistance. Take plenty of photos inside and outside the house.

Here is the Complete list of tips to help you if your home is flooded.

3 things you need to know before you go

Ronan Day Lewis and his father, Daniel Day-Lewis (center left to right) are collaborating on a feature film that will bring the decorated actor into retirement. The pair are seen here attending a film screening last year.

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Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

1. Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis has ended his seven-year retirement from acting to performing Anemone, a film directed by his son Ronan. The pair co-wrote the film.
2. Mark Chavez, a doctor accused of administering ketamine Friends star Matthew Perry has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute the drug. Perry died in October 2023.
3. An appeals court in New Jersey sided with Uber and ruled that a couple cannot file a lawsuit a near-fatal car accident because they agreed to the app’s terms and conditions. The couple claims their daughter agreed to the terms when she ordered from Uber Eats.

This newsletter has been edited by Suzanne Nuijen.