September 3, 2026

Brittney Melton

up first newsletter writer

Good morning. This week, the U.S. Mint begins selling commemorative $1 gold-colored coins featuring President Trump's face to celebrate the country's 250th birthday. Experts say that this may be illegal. Here’s the news we’re following today:

Today’s top stories

A voter casts their ballot at a polling station that has an American flag on it. Only the person’s bottom half can be seen below the station.

Laura Brett/Getty Images

Two Democrats overseeing federal elections are questioning why the Trump administration hasn’t distributed funds for state and local election security as directed by Congress. Sen. Alex Padilla of California and Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the acting head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Nick Anderson, urging the restoration of more than $39.6 million for specific election security efforts outlined in the fiscal year 2026 DHS Appropriations bill, passed in April. NPR was provided an exclusive copy of the letter. The lawmakers wrote that they share a "grave concern that time is running out … to assist state and local election officials in protecting our elections from cyber and mis- and disinformation threats." Historically, the Trump administration has treated election security as a political issue, but it has also cut federal funding and jobs in this critical area, including at CISA.

Chevron is expanding its operations in Venezuela and plans to invest $7 billion over the next five years, eventually expanding production to around 600,000 barrels of oil per day. Chevron's CEO yesterday announced the joint venture in Caracas, alongside U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez. The agreement comes after the Trump administration announced an agreement that would give the U.S. access to 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil. Critics question the legality of these oil agreements, arguing they may hinder Venezuela’s democratic transition after U.S. troops captured Rodriguez's predecessor, Nicholas Maduro, in January.

🎧 Oil is an emotional issue in Venezuela because it accounts for more than 90% of the country's export income, reporter John Otis tells Up First. During its socialist revolution, the government kicked out many foreign oil companies. When Otis was in the country in 2007, he says he saw massive public support for then-President Hugo Chávez's plan to nationalize U.S.-operated oil fields. He says that's why many Venezuelans find it unsettling now to see their interim president forming close ties with companies like Chevron.

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial yesterday said once again that they could not reach a unanimous verdict. They remained at an impasse after 28 hours of deliberation on whether to convict her of first-degree murder for killing her three children in 2023. The judge urged them to continue deliberating. If the jury remains deadlocked today, the judge may declare a mistrial, leaving the district attorney to decide whether to retry the case. Clancy has admitted that she killed her children in 2023. Her defense team argues she suffered from postpartum psychosis and could not understand or control her actions. Prosecutors say she planned to kill her children as part of an attempt to die by suicide. (via WBUR)

➡️ The "insanity defense" can be tough to prove. But the defense's strategy may have a better chance in Massachusetts, where laws differ from those in many states. Here's what to know.

Trailblazing journalist and feminist activist Gloria Steinem has died at 92. Steinem devoted her life to fighting for gender equality. She co-founded Ms. magazine, the first mass market feminist monthly, and continued to speak and write about women’s issues well into her 90s. She spent most of her life traveling across the country and around the world to speak, organize and raise money on behalf of women’s rights.

Local stories from WAMU 88.5 (edit station)

WAMU/Darryl C. Murphy

'Crankin!' - an exploration of D.C.'s go-go culture and history

As D.C. celebrates the 50th anniversary of it's official sound, go-go, a new novel titled Crankin! takes readers through its 5 decades and gives them a peek into where the genre is headed. The book covers the evolution and impact of go-go from Chuck Brown’s foundation, to the opening of the Go-Go Museum and Cafe to go-go’s reach into Africa.

Hundreds of nurses from Washington D.C. to San Francisco participated in protests last week, over the sharing of healthcare data with the private company Palantir. An ongoing lawsuit by dozens of Democratic-led states seeks to limit the sharing of Medicaid data with ICE.

courtesy National Nurses United

D.C. area nurses join nationwide protests over sharing of health data with Palantir

Registered nurses in D.C. and other cities nationwide protested the company Palantir last week, arguing the firm's technology is helping ICE track down immigrants using Medicaid records. Court filings show ICE shared Medicaid data with Palantir even after a federal judge limited what information could be passed to immigration officials.

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Special series

A hand holds a phone showing a photo of a boy wearing a graphic tee.

Ryan Kellman/NPR

An NPR investigation finds that heat kills thousands of Americans every year. But official records radically undercount the toll. In this series, we are bringing you stories that reveal why this happens and what can be done.

Adam Wilson's death was officially recorded as "unknown natural causes." But his mother says she knows what killed him: heat. Wilson had a genetic disorder that caused heart problems and made him highly sensitive to heat. In his home state of Arizona, heat can be unavoidable. Heat often exacerbates underlying conditions. Doctors need conclusive proof when certifying deaths. Because the evidence of heat-related death is often invisible, it's often left off of death certificates, even when it's a contributing factor. Pima County, Ariz., where Adam lived, has in recent years trained death investigators to look for clues of heat's influence on a death. But stories like Adam's still illustrate how thousands of heat-related deaths go unreported each year in the United States.

Deep dive

Houses and buildings in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. The structures are mainly various pastel colors such as pink, light blue and butter yellow. Mountains rise in the background.

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

San Francisco's artificial intelligence boom is fueling fierce competition in its already expensive housing market. AI companies are expanding rapidly as the tech industry pulls workers back to the office. Wealth has flooded the area as startups like Anthropic and OpenAI gear up for public offerings. The economic upswing comes with growing concerns about displacement and a chronic housing shortage in a city where previous tech booms have already pushed many residents out.

🏘️ The median home sales price in San Francisco has surged 25% from a year ago, according to Compass brokerage. Real estate agent Paul Kitchen says even all-cash offers exceeding $25 million have been outbid.
🏘️ Currently, only a few upscale neighborhoods are experiencing price spikes. History shows that over time, these increases will likely create a ripple effect throughout the Bay Area and beyond, as people priced out of their homes seek alternatives.
🏘️ Wealth from the AI boom has also affected San Francisco's rental market. Real estate agents say they have seen more and more high-earning 20-somethings who can easily afford $10,000 in monthly rent.

3 things to know before you go

A grayscale photo of jazz singer Cassandra Wilson performing into a microphone as she snaps her fingers.

Frans Schellekens/Redferns/Getty Images

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Jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson died yesterday at the age of 70. She was a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master and won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album twice.