Fox lawsuit delayed; violence in Sudan; Boston marathon begins

Plus, advice for saying goodbye to a loved one. [View this email online]( [NPR Up First Newsletter]( by Suzanne Nuyen April 17, 2023 Good morning. Broadway fans said [goodbye to Phantom of the Opera]( last night. The musical closed after more than 35 years and nearly 14,000 performances. Here's what else we're following. A Delaware Superior Court judge has delayed the trial between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News by at least a day. Dominion is suing Fox for $1.6 billion over lies the network told about its voting machines. 🎧 NPR's David Folkenflik tells the Up First podcast this morning the delay is likely because [Fox is trying to settle the case](. He says the trial is one of the most important in decades, and the result would have implications for "how much running room the press has to get things wrong" and "to what degree the media can be held responsible." ➡️ Catch up on [major details of the case]( ahead of the trial. [Four separate images attached from left to right: Sean Hannity, Rubert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson and Suzanne Scott.]( Theo Wargo/Getty Images The Boston Marathon begins this morning, two days after the city observed the 10th anniversary of the bombings that killed three and injured hundreds more. For the first time, [nonbinary runners are allowed to enter](. 🏃 Here's everything you need to know about [this year's top athletes]( and what makes this year's race different (via [WBUR](. 🏃 Olympic gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge is running the Boston Marathon for the first time. He holds the current marathon world record at just over two hours. Here's [what it would take]( for him to beat it again (via [GBH](. A shooting at a 16-year-old's birthday party killed at least four people and injured at least 28 others over the weekend in Alabama. [Police have not released information about the victims]( a motive or even whether a suspect is dead or alive, according to Troy Public Radio's Kyle Gassiot. 🎧 He tells Up First it's left the community [confused and frustrated]( over why police are being "so tight-lipped." The county school system's superintendent says classes will occur today, and counselors will be on-site to help students and staff manage their stress and grief. Fierce fighting between Sudan's ruling armed forces and the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, has [killed at least 97 civilians and injured hundreds more]( in Khartoum. It’s unclear who controls the northeast African country. 🎧 NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu calls the battle "[truly the nightmare end to the power struggle]( He tells Up First there is also a "propaganda war going on" alongside the fighting, with "both sides claiming to have the upper hand" as they "fight for supremacy on who will shape Sudan going forward." 🎧 Jeffrey Feltman, the former U.S. State Department special envoy for the Horn of Africa, says a ceasefire is urgently needed. Sudan was supposed to move from military to civilian rule, and Feltman tells Morning Edition that the country must now determine [what will happen to the two generals]( "now that they have revealed once and for all they have no interest in civilian rule." --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [A young girl poses for a selfie with rapper Saniya Mistri Qayammuddin — aka Saniya MQ — at her Mumbai home. ]( Raksha Kumar/NPR Saniya Mistri Qayammuddin began writing poetry at eight years old. When the COVID lockdowns began, she started recording raps from her home in Mumbai and posting them on YouTube. Now, she's appearing on TV and performing at large venues. 🎧 Listen to how the [humble teenage girl became a heartthrob]( spreading messages of justice, or [read her story](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [A pair of scissors cuts into a piece of paper with a butterfly cutout.]( Photographer/Source Isabel Stenzel Byrnes, a grief counselor, knows how hard goodbyes can be. She lost her twin sister to cancer in 2013. She says [saying goodbye to loved ones]( is an art that can be learned and practiced, and she has some advice for how: ➡️ Recognize the person's role in your life and be specific about how they've impacted you. ➡️ Let yourself feel strong emotions without judgment, and let them go over time. Remember your loved one with love rather than pain. ➡️ Practice goodbye rituals, like forming an ancestral altar, if you can't say goodbye face-to-face or in real-time. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Jamil Zaki, a man with glasses, holds his daughter Alma.]( Photographer/Source Jamil Zaki's daughter had a stroke when she was born. He says a [doctor became his unsung hero]( when his compassionate delivery of difficult news helped "hit a pause button" on his pain. Getting stuck in traffic just got a little more interesting. Police asked a man in Oregon to stop [throwing $100 bills from his car window]( because it was a traffic hazard. Spoiler alert: After an earth-shattering death last week, the Roys are left to pick up the pieces on last night's episode of [Succession](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. 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