U.S. dockworkers suspend strike, avoiding an 'economic crisis.' And, Tyre Nichols trial verdict brings hope for police brutality cases.

04:20 |

by Brittney Melton

October 4, 2024

Good morning. Say goodbye to Bachman’s Sparrow and Steller’s Jay, the American Ornithological Society will rename them as part of a plan to do away with bird names that honor people. Here’s the other news we’re following today:

Thousands of dockworkers have called off the strike that shut down East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance ended the three-day standoff with both sides agreeing to a 62% wage increase over six years. The union had wanted a 77% increase over six years. Both parties agreed to extend the existing contract until Jan. 15, 2025, so they can continue negotiations.

Shipping containers sit piled at the Port of Baltimore on Sept. 21, 2018.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

🎧 The biggest sticking point in the ongoing negotiations is now automation, NPR’s Andrea Hsu tells Up First. The union seeks language that guarantees humans, not machines, will handle the task of moving shipping containers. In general, they’re opposed to any technology that eliminates the need for union labor. Union President Harold Daggett says that even partially automated equipment poses a threat, as it could lead to job losses. For now, the U.S. has avoided an economic crisis, and it will take some days for things to go back to normal, Hsu says.

Three former Memphis police officers received a mixed verdict in the high-profile police brutality case related to Tyre Nichols’ fatal beating. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith were found not guilty of depriving Nichols of his civil rights, resulting in death. This was the harshest charge they faced, and a guilty verdict could have resulted in life in prison. The officers were all convicted of obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Haley was also found guilty of depriving Nichols of his civil rights and deliberate indifference resulting in serious bodily injury.

🎧 NPR’s Debbie Elliott says Nichols’ family is calling this a victory, especially considering how difficult it can be to secure convictions in police brutality cases. “To see those officers held accountable for what they did and put our family through did give us hope for the future that maybe this won’t ever happen to another family,” Nichols’ sister Keyana Dixon said. Activists hope an ongoing civil rights investigation by the Justice Department will lead to a change in the culture of policing. Legal proceedings continue as the ex-officers face trial on state murder charges. The Nichols’ family has filed a wrongful death suit against the city of Memphis.

As the election looms one month away, all eyes are on who will win the presidency. But some of the most consequential and controversial issues — including abortion, schools, guns, taxes and healthcare — will be decided by the state lawmakers on your ballot. These legislators' significant power is amplified by a divided and gridlocked Congress. Twenty legislatures have Republican supermajorities which allows them to override governor vetoes. NPR is examining state legislatures where partisan control hangs in the balance. These states could experience significant changes in the upcoming election. See where your state falls with NPR's interactive map.

Newsletter continues after sponsor message

Residents work hard to shovel the mud out of Marshall, N.C.'s natural grocery store.

Gerard Albert III/BPR News

In less than three days, four to five months-worth of rain drenched western North Carolina as the remnants of Hurricane Helene tore across the southeast U.S. Dozens of people were killed and entire towns were flooded. Many of the hardest-hit communities are rural with less than 1,000 residents. Marshall, N.C., was built along railroad tracks on the banks of the French Broad River.

📷 See photos of residents picking up the pieces after the catastrophic storm.

Director Francis Ford Coppola at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024.

Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿Movies: Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola speaks with NPR’s Mandalit del Barco about Megalopolis, a film he’s worked on since the 1980s. It pits the visionary architect Cesar Catilina against Franklyn Cicero, the Mayor of New Rome, in a society plagued with greed and political division.

📺 TV: Netflix’s new series Nobody Wants This, starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, doesn’t only offer rom-com banter. It also has some pretty deep questions about faith and compatibility.

📚 Books: SNL star Kate McKinnon says her first book, The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette For Young Ladies of Mad Science, is part of her “private mission to give a wink and a nod” to young people who might feel “different” like she did growing up.

🎵 Music: Rapper Future hit #1 this week on the Billboard 200 albums chart for the third time in the last six months with his latest album Mixtape Pluto.

🎭 Theater: The acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe show, Fight Night, features five actors who compete to win over the audience during a 90-minute performance. Audience members are given a device to anonymously vote in different rounds and answer questions about their age, income, and the qualities they value in a leader.

❓Quiz: They debated, wrote memoirs, got inaugurated and turned 100. What else did political people do? Put your knowledge to the test and see if you can beat my near-perfect score.

Who's the world's greatest musician?

Quick-- if we’d asked you to rattle off your list of the world’s greatest musicians, who’d come to mind? Picking out ‘The Greatest’ might be a tall order, but NPR Music asks: is the culture ready to really think - or rethink - who we call great?

A new book, titled How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music, refocuses the canon on stories and voices that have been overlooked, marginalized or hidden in plain sight. The goal? Free the music of women and others who don't fit the dominant straight-white-male paradigm from special categories, and put it at the center, where major conversations about culture live. From Beyoncé to Odetta, Taylor Swift to Joan Baez, Joan Jett to Dolly Parton, it’s 52 years worth of interviews with legendary musicians meant to overturn, to question, to challenge, and - especially - to make you think. For the music-lover in your life - and for the music-lover in you - it’s available to pre-order now, both in hardcover and audiobook, all at the link here.

ORDER NOW ➔

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power plant in Nottinghamshire, England was the last operating coal-fired plant in the U.K.

Uniper/‎

The U.K. has become the first major economy to quit coal power, a primary contributor to global warming. It’s a milestone for the country that was the first to use the fossil fuel.

Rust is scheduled to debut at a film festival in Poland, three years after the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The screening aims to honor her.

Country music star Garth Brooks faces accusations of rape and sexual assault. The woman who filed the lawsuit yesterday alleges she was repeatedly harassed by him and was raped in 2019 while working as his makeup artist.

Stream your local NPR station.

Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here.

Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more!

You received this message because you're subscribed to Up First emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002

Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy