Isaias intensifies to hurricane.
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Isaias → intensify → hurricane
And, judge orders Pike execution evidence preserved
Good morning.
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evidence → order → ?
You're reading the Up First newsletter.
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You → read → 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.
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you → subscribe → day
Tropical Storm Isaias intensified into a hurricane overnight and is forecast to make landfall as early as tomorrow night near the Alabama Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle.
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Isaias → intensify → Coast
Coastal communities in its path are preparing for high winds and flooding by stocking up on supplies to board up windows and gather sandbags.
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communities → prepare → sandbags
Residents who live farther inland are also preparing for inches of rain and wind.
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who → live → rain
State officials have declared states of emergency so they can stage equipment along the Gulf, Lauren Linahan of NPR network station WBHM tells Up First.
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Linahan → declare → WBHM
They're coordinating shelters and warning people to be ready, even though, with landfall more than 24 hours away, the forecast could still change.
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forecast → coordinate → landfall
Some non-essential workers from oil production platforms in the Gulf have been evacuated — a common occurrence during hurricane season.
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workers → evacuate → season
If the storm gets really bad, oil prices could be impacted, Linahan says.
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Linahan → get → ?
Big events are still scheduled for this weekend, including the Alabama-Georgia SEC football game in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night, which President Trump is expected to attend.
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Trump → schedule → which
If the storm maintains its path, its worst impacts will happen that morning.
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impacts → maintain → path
Republicans currently have a slim majority in the House, holding 218 seats to the Democrats' 214.
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Republicans → have → 214
With less than a month until Election Day, an NPR analysis of both parties' campaigns highlights key races that will shape control of the House in 2027.
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that → highlight → 2027
The Cook Political Report lists 43 competitive districts, including 22 toss-ups.
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Report → list → ups
But both parties are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into shaping a much larger electoral landscape.
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parties → pour → landscape
Some districts that voted for Trump and a Democratic House representative, or vice versa, in 2024 are expected to be close again in the midterms.
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that → vote → midterms
But NPR's Stephen Fowler says the political landscape has changed drastically since then.
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landscape → say → ?
With an unpopular president, rising prices and strong anti-incumbency sentiments, many more districts are now competitive.
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districts → rise → president
The unpopularity of the current administration, particularly among Latino voters who supported Trump, could lead to new Republican-drawn districts electing Democrats.
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who → support → Democrats
There's a massive amount of money involved in these campaigns; AdImpact reports half a billion dollars in House ads leading up to Election Day.
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AdImpact → be → Day
Both parties are essentially throwing a huge amount of resources at the wall to see what sticks, Fowler says.
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Fowler → throw → wall
The Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville has ordered Tennessee prison officials to preserve all evidence related to the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike last week.
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Court → order → Pike
This includes log books, medical waste and all communications from officials involved in the execution attempt.
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This → include → attempt
The court granted Pike's attorneys "liberal access" to her, requiring prison officials to respond to requests for in-person visits within two hours.
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court → grant → hours
Pike's attorneys said that she is now awake, speaking and receiving critical medical care after several days of unconsciousness.
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she → say → unconsciousness
Meanwhile, Trump has approved the execution of a former U.S. Army psychiatrist by firing squad.
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Trump → approve → squad
Nidal Hasan killed 13 people in 2009 during a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.
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Hasan → kill → Hood
This would mark the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years and the first by firing squad since World War II.
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This → mark → II
Secretary of the Army Adam Telle announced that Hasan will be executed at Fort Hood on Dec. 3.
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Hasan → announce → Dec.
The Pentagon's decision, including the choice of firing squad, remains unclear, but some experts that NPR spoke with say it may relate to recent concerns over Pike's botched lethal injection.
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it → include → injection
CNN, MS NOW and Politico are in federal court today to argue that Trump is infringing on their constitutional rights by blocking their access to the White House.
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Trump → argue → House
The news outlets say that they have the right to determine how, what and where they can cover the president at any given time.
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they → say → time
A judge last month issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from barring the outlets from the White House while the court considered the lawsuit.
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court → issue → lawsuit
NPR's David Folkenflik says the White House has inconsistently followed the judge's order, including not allowing CNN to do the work it typically does at smaller spaces, like Air Force One.
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it → say → One
Although the White House has the right to deny access to its grounds, once credentials are granted, they cannot be revoked for dissatisfaction with the speech.
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they → have → speech
The White House has been saying these outlets report fake news and have cited national security concerns, referencing questions from the outlets about the bunker and areas below the East Wing's newly renovated ballroom.
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outlets → say → ballroom
The cost of diesel fuel is breaking records left and right.
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cost → break → records
A few weeks ago, it hit $6.53/gallon.
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it → hit → 6.53
…and 30 more, not listed.