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Today's top stories
The names of the two children who were shot and killed on Wednesday at Annunciation Church and School in Minneapolis have been released. Harper Lillian Moyski, 10, and Fletcher Merkel, 8, were in the pews of the church at a Mass to celebrate the first week of school when the shooter opened fire on the building. Yesterday, Fletcher's father, Jesse Merkel, spoke publicly for the first time since the shooting and asked that his son be remembered for who he was, not how he died. Here's what officials are saying about the violence.
- 🎧 Jesse said he hopes that his family and the school's community will not forget this loss, but be able to heal from it, NPR's Jason DeRose tells Up First. Jesse emphasized his family's loss, saying that he will never be able to talk to his son or "watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming." Police say the shooter, 23-year-old Robin Westman, attended the church and school where the shooting took place. Authorities have not identified any specific grievances the shooter had against the establishment. Law enforcement says Westman, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the attack, had a fascination with mass violence.
- ➡️ Talking to kids about school shootings can be difficult. Here's guidance from experts to help you have those tough conversations.
Jim O'Neill has been selected to serve as the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He currently serves as a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This shakeup of leadership comes after Susan Monarez was forced out as the head of the CDC after holding the role for less than a month. Monarez's attorneys say her firing is due to her refusal to "rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts."
- 🎧 O'Neill has voiced strong libertarian views, including that the FDA should put medicines in the market and let consumers assume the risks, says NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin. He has also suggested that people should be able to buy and sell human organs to help incentivize a greater supply. Simmons-Duffin notes that O'Neill is not a physician or scientist. Most CDC directors have had medical degrees. Several Democratic lawmakers have called for Kennedy to be fired over the change in CDC leadership.
China is expected to stage an elaborate military parade next Wednesday, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are anticipated guests. Dozens of world leaders are on the guest list, including the leaders of Iran, Cuba, Vietnam and Myanmar. President Trump does not plan to make an appearance.
- 🎧 NPR's Anthony Kuhn says images from this meeting should be visually powerful because it's the first time the leaders of these three nations will meet — something that didn't even happen during the Cold War. The three countries have a loose coalition with each other, and this meeting could allow them to tighten it. This is Kim's first big multilateral event, and it should be a friendly crowd for him. South Korea's president will be absent, but the country's parliamentary speaker will attend the event. Asia Society Senior Fellow John Delury says Kim's attendance could signal that he realizes he should strengthen ties with China as an ally and not put all his eggs in Russia's basket.
From our hosts
by Michel Martin, Morning Edition and Up First host
Although I didn't know it at the time, covering Hurricane Katrina would be my last big assignment for ABC News before I headed to NPR.
I never went to New Orleans then. I was sent to Houston to cover the arrival of evacuees at the city's Astrodome.
After so much horror and sadness, it was a relief to be able to add a different dimension to the story. It seemed like the whole city had been made ready. There were medical personnel to address health needs. There were IT professionals to help people locate family members when they had lost their phones and contact information. There were real estate and hospitality specialists to help people find places to live. And — if you can believe it — there were regular folk who took people in to stay in their homes until they could figure things out.
There was a lot to figure out. By Aug. 31, 2005, 80% of New Orleans was flooded by the massive storm surge and the failure of the levees. Whole neighborhoods were wiped out, with everything in them. Homes, schools, businesses and — as many feared at the time — relationships and networks built up over generations disappeared.
Even now, it's hard to describe how profoundly traumatic it was. The trauma showed on the faces of people I met at the Astrodome.
I never got to New Orleans then, but I have since. Ten years ago, we came for a deep look at the radical changes made to the New Orleans school system in the wake of Katrina as part of a live event series with NPR. Now, 20 years later, we're going further. We're telling the stories of people who left and those who came back. We're telling the stories of why rebuilding has been harder for some than others. And we're revisiting more stories about what's happened to the schools. There are some folks I'd even met and interviewed before, and many I was glad to meet for the first time. Music? Of course.
The pain lingers. There have been tears. It's a different city now in some ways. There are empty lots where houses and families were. There are empty chairs at tables.
But what really stands out is the will to Keep. On. Going.
It's New Orleans.
Weekend picks
Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:
🍿 Movies: In The Roses, Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch play a once supportive, loving couple whose career trajectories change, leading to arguments and divorce.
📺 TV: The animated comedy series Long Story Short hops around time to follow three siblings in a Jewish family. They are seen as kids, young adults and middle-aged, as they deal with the ups and downs of life.
📚 Books: Two graduate students journey to the depths of hell to retrieve their professor and salvage their career prospects in R.F. Kuang's Katabasis.
🎵 Music: The band Alabama Shakes has reunited with a new song, "Another Life." Their first new track in a decade marks the reunion of musicians who have freed themselves from the pressure to focus solely on the past or the future, says NPR freelance reporter Jewly Hight.
🎮 Gaming: The Metal Gear video game series is known for its innovative game design, which confronts themes like the relationship between people and technology. Now, the game is back with its latest edition, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
❓ Quiz: I got all but one question right this week. Think you can beat me? Put your knowledge to the test. And if you are looking for extra fun, try your hand at the Planet Money Summer School Quiz on the political economy.
3 things to know before you go
- This week, the Far-Flung Postcards series takes readers to a Christian church built by ancient Arab people over 1,500 years ago in the Negev desert. NPR's Emily Feng visited the site earlier this month.
- Today, the U.S. ends the "de minimis" trade exemption that allows individuals to avoid import fees for small shipments. This will affect around 4 million packages processed each day.
- Julian Wachner, a once prominent conductor and composer in New York City, has been charged in Indiana with possessing child sexual abuse material and cocaine. Until his arrest, he was working as a fourth-grade teacher.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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