Republican debate recap; Rudy Giuliani surrenders in Georgia; Wagner Group leader presumed dead in plane crash

Plus, how the Holocaust shaped one author's spirituality.

View this email online by Anandita Bhalerao August 24, 2023  Good morning! For those who are not big fans of small talk – you’re missing out on an easy mental and physical health boost. Here’s what we’re following today. Eight Republican presidential candidates faced off in the first debate of the 2024 race yesterday last night in Milwaukee. Morry Gash/AP 🎧 One of the major splits was on the issue of abortion. On Up First this morning, NPR’s Sarah McCammon says some candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence supported a federal ban. Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley – the only woman in the race – called for more caution. ➡️ Candidates also had intense exchanges on the issue of Ukraine. Haley and Pence strongly supported continued funding to Ukraine. Vivek Ramaswamy said the U.S. needs to stop spending money on Ukraine and focus on other things. ➡️ Read the five main takeaways and delve into more analysis from the debate. Former President Donald Trump is expected to voluntarily surrender at Georgia’s Fulton County jail today. He faces 13 felony counts in Georgia related to efforts to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election result. A number of his 18 co-defendants, including lawyer Rudy Giuliani, have already surrendered. 🎧 Although Fulton County district Fani Willis has said she wants to begin trial well before the 2024 election, lawyer Jeffrey Brickman tells WABE’s Sam Gringlas “that is wishful thinking.” ➡️ Trump’s bond condition limits his use of social media, which means we won’t be hearing from him on X. One thing that is likely to gain social media attention: Trump's mugshot, expected to be released later today.  Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a rebellion against the Russian military this year, was aboard a plane that crashed north of Moscow on Wednesday, killing all 10 people on board, according to Russia's civil aviation agency. 🎧 The flight path shows "the business jet heading from Moscow to St. Petersburg and then a little over 30 minutes into the flight, the plane suddenly starts to fall from the sky,” reports NPR’s Charles Maynes on Up First. But there’s no consensus on Prigozhin’s actual death. ➡️ Prigozhin founded the Wagner military group that has been critical in supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Putin had denounced its recent mutiny as a “stab in the back”, which had led to speculation about Prigozhin’s fate. 🎧 Listen to how his criminal past helped him build what some believe to be the world's most dangerous mercenary group, or read more about how the uprising affected Putin’s position on it.   Newsletter continues after sponsor message Deanne Fitzmaurice for NPR Lahaina residents who lost their homes to the wildfire are relying on the kindness of friends and family to help tide them over. One woman’s stepfather welcomed her and her husband's entire extended family to his property – as many as 87 people. "This is life in Hawaii," says her husband, Travis Cabanilla Okano. "We grew up sleeping in our cousin's house. We grew up sleeping with 20 of us in one little room... Letting our kids and us be together like that brings a lot of comfort for me." 📸 See photos of the Maui house where Okano and his family are coming together as they plan their next steps.   Enlighten Me Vanessa Zoltan Enlighten Me is a special series with Rachel Martin about the human condition. All four of author Vanessa Zoltan’s grandparents survived the Holocaust. Because of their horrors they had experienced, she grew up seeing her family observe Jewish customs without really believing in the existence of God. It impacted her own approach to spirituality:. “I think that the absence of God can be really beautiful. It means it's our responsibility to take care of each other on this earth,” she says. 🎧 Listen to Zoltan and Martin discuss how her spiritual outlook guides her practice as a chaplain, or read the interview here. You Make Public Media Possible Your financial support is the NPR Network's greatest strength. You keep the facts flowing. You bring more stories to more ears. You make a real difference when you contribute to independent, trustworthy media. We're counting on your support to make sure the independent reporting and programs you depend on thrive. It takes all of us. Help today.  Donate Now MBARI Octopuses are generally antisocial animals. But researchers found that over 6,000 of them have come together off the coast of California to huddle around an extinct underwater volcano India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon's south pole yesterday. Speaking of space, here’s what the chefs at NASA are cooking to get astronauts ready for flight. Child influencers whose parents feature them in online content often grow up to realize their privacy was violated. A new Illinois law wants to give them their due. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. 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