Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
Today's top stories
The death toll has risen to 12 after electronic pagers belonging to members of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah exploded at the same time yesterday, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Thousands more were wounded in the attack Israel informed the U.S. it was responsible for, one U.S. official told NPR. Many of the pagers were carried in bags, on people’s hips or in their hands when they detonated across Beirut and south Lebanon. Videos show them exploding in grocery stores, at desks and on crowded streets.
- 🎧 NPR’s Daniel Estrin tells Up First that the majority of the injuries were to the face and eyes as people were holding their pagers to read a text message. Hezbollah started using the pagers because it was concerned that Israel had infiltrated its smartphones. The New York Times reports Israel put the explosives inside the pagers before they were brought to Lebanon. It's a psychological blow to Hezbollah to know that Israel was in their pockets this whole time, Estrin says. The Biden Administration has been working to prevent a regional war and, based on NPR’s reporting, the administration considers the attack very unhelpful in its efforts.
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce today the first interest rate cut since 2020. Borrowing costs have been at their highest level in more than two decades for more than a year. This made things like getting a car loan or financing a business being more expensive. Here’s what's at stake and how today’s decision may affect the economy and your wallet.
- 🎧 A big question is how quickly the Fed will move, NPR's Scott Horsley says. Some people think it’s getting a late start on cuts and needs to act more aggressively to catch up. Horsley says today’s rate cut is just the first step and we’re likely to see interest rates fall further in the coming months. He cautions that even if inflation falls to the Fed's target 2%, it doesn't mean prices will go back to pre-pandemic levels. The good news? Wages have gone up faster than prices have for more than a year, which means people's buying power could catch up.
Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. appear to be plummeting for the first time in decades. Data from the CDC shows a more than 10% drop in deaths. Some experts say the trend, which began late last year, is accelerating and could mean thousands fewer drug deaths each year. NPR's Brian Mann spoke with people experiencing addiction for an NPR exclusive report. Read their stories here and learn more about the drop in deaths.
- 🎧 “To be clear, nobody thinks the problem is solved,” Mann says. Though deaths appear to be dropping, there are still around 100,000 fatal overdoses a year. Rahul Gupta, the White House drug czar, believes this shift is because public health and addiction treatment programs are finally working. He credits the spread of overdose reversal drug naloxone, also known as Narcan. Some experts say public health measures alone don’t explain the significant drop in drug-related deaths. Researchers are racing to understand the change so they can build on it and keep it going.
Deep dive
Social media platforms can be a fun outlet but can also hold dangerous content for young users. With that in mind, Instagram unveiled changes that’ll make millions of teenagers' accounts private, enhance parental supervision and set restrictions on messaging. Meta says users under 16 will now need a parent’s approval to change restrictions on “Teen Accounts,” which filter out offensive words and limit who is able to contact them.
- 📱 This push comes as Congress hesitates to pass the Kids Online Safety Act. It would require social media companies to do more to help prevent bullying, sexual exploitation and the spread of harmful content.
- 📱 The House has concerns that the bill would infringe on the young people's free speech. If it passes, it would be the first Congressional legislation since the 1990s to protect kids online.
- 📱 Meta officials say they have developed new AI systems to detect teens who lie about their age when trying to get on Instagram.
- 📱 Parents will be limited to viewing around three dozen topics that their teens are interested in. Meta says topic-viewing is less about surveilling kids and more about their curiosities.
Get more details about Instagram’s latest push for child safety here.
Today's Listen
Getting in your car and turning on your radio might feel like an endless time loop. At least I know it does for me. The jams the DJs played on the radio yesterday are spun again today. More times than not, you can hear some songs several times a day.
- 🎧 Listen to find out why there’s so much repetition on the radio and learn a tip for how to avoid it.
3 things to know before you go
- Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail yesterday after he was arrested on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution in a sweeping federal indictment.
- A long-awaited mission to Europa, one of Jupiter's icy moons believed to have the right conditions for life, is on track to launch in just a few weeks, NASA officials say.
- Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bill to provide a nationwide right to IVF treatments, marking the second time the measure failed to advance.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
Copyright 2024 NPR