Fox and Dominion settle; Jack Teixeira heads back to court; Tyre Nichols' family sues Memphis

Plus, what a 150-year-old law has to do with restricting abortion pills. [View this email online]( [NPR Up First Newsletter]( by Suzanne Nuyen April 19, 2023 Good morning. What's the pollen count where you are? If allergy season is wrecking your spring, [try exposure therapy](. Here's what else we're following today. Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems have settled for $787.5 million in the lawsuit over the [lies the network broadcast after the 2020 presidential election](. Fox News acknowledged the court's rulings "finding certain claims about Dominion to be false" but offered no apology. [Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos, third from right, leaves with members of his legal team, including Davida Brook, left, Justin Nelson, third from left and Stephen Shackelford, right, from the Leonard Williams Justice Center in Wilmington, Del., shortly after Dominion reached a $787.5 million settlement with Fox News.]( Alex Wong/Getty Images 🎧 NPR's David Folkenflik says the size of the settlement is symbolic of an apology. On the Up First podcast today, he says "the very fact that that [figure was disclosed publicly]( means that Dominion can point to it "as an admission of wrongdoing." ➡️ The legal battle isn't over. More than a [dozen similar lawsuits]( related to the 2020 election are going through the legal system. 🎧 Justin Nelson, the co-lead counsel for Dominion, tells Michel Martin on Morning Edition the case was "[in the heartland of the First Amendment]( and what Dominion did was define the truth. "The truth matters, and lies have consequences," he says. Many states could see access to abortion pills heavily restricted if the Supreme Court does not intervene today. The Court issued an emergency stay last week after an appeals court order restricted the drug mifepristone. The Biden administration wants the Supreme Court to put the rulings and restrictions on hold to "allow for the case to be more fully argued in court," according to NPR's Sarah McCammon. 🎧 On Up First, she says some of the plaintiffs in the case are doctors who say the widespread use of mifepristone means they [have to care for patients experiencing complications]( violating their beliefs. Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman accused of leaking top-secret documents that included information about the Ukraine war and other top national security issues in a Discord chat room, is scheduled to appear in court again today. Questions remain on how the junior employee had access to sensitive materials. 🎧 NPR's Greg Myre says on Up First that after the 9/11 attacks, government agencies were criticized for "[hoarding their own intelligence]( and not sharing enough information. But the latest leak was "very embarrassing" for the Pentagon, which is in "damage control mode" and now reviewing the way it distributes classified information. ➡️ Here's what we know so far about [Jack Teixeira](. Tyre Nichols' family will file a civil lawsuit today against the city of Memphis, its police department and the [officers involved in his beating death](. Nichols died on Jan. 10, three days after police stopped him for allegedly driving recklessly. Five officers have already been charged with murder in Nichols' case, and they've all pleaded not guilty. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [Boxes of mifepristone sit on top of paperwork.]( Sarah McCammon/NPR A 150-year-old law has been cited in a federal case in Texas as a reason abortion drugs should be restricted. The Comstock Act banned the use of the mail to spread "obscene" information or materials, including items related to sex and reproductive health. It's been largely [ignored or forgotten until now](. 🚫 The law is named after Andrew Comstock, a deeply religious man who believed people were easily corrupted and it was the government's job to protect them from harmful influences. 🚫 His law was largely unpopular, but Congress never repealed it. Individual court cases — like the one that legalized contraceptives — overturned most parts of the act. 🚫 When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the DOJ said the Comstock Act didn't apply to mailed abortion pills if used legally. 🚫 Anti-abortion activists argue otherwise. Legal experts say the broadness of the Comstock Act could impact the distribution of other medical products. --------------------------------------------------------------- Henry Holt and Co. Michel Martin is Morning Edition's newest host. She was previously host of Weekend All Things Considered and host of the Consider This Saturday podcast. Her first day at Morning Edition was March 27. First of all: Hi. It's not my first time at NPR — I've been here since 2006, and Morning Edition is my third (!) hosting assignment at NPR — fourth if you count the [Going There]( live event series we've had for three years. But it's my first appearance in this space. So: nice to meet you or meet you again. It's great to be here. I like to joke that someday I will print all the T-shirts I have in my head. One of the T-shirts I have in my head is: "This is NPR: We read the books." In other words, we actually read the books we tell you about. I'm not throwing shade at the people who don't actually read the books (Ok, well, maybe a little). But, here, we do. I have rescheduled book interviews because I had not finished the book in time. I did for today's interview — and I am glad I did because … it's so many things. The book is Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America by Julia Lee, a Korean American writer, scholar and teacher who teaches courses on African American and Asian American literature (I know, right?). It's part memoir, part history lesson and part discourse on the complexities of racial hierarchy. It's about how the experience of being other — being one of the few — can play out differently. It's touching, infuriating and revealing. But for many of us, it's deeply familiar — even if we don't happen to be deeply angry Korean American Ivy League graduates whose parents ran a fast food restaurant. I'm so glad for memoirs like these that help us understand ourselves and each other a little better. That's why we actually read the books. Talk soon! 🎧 Listen to Michel's [interview with Julia Lee]( today on Morning Edition, or [read about it here](. — [Michel Martin]( Morning Edition host --------------------------------------------------------------- [A scoreboard shows a message of support for Damar Hamlin at a January Bills-Patriots game in New York.]( Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images Damar Hamlin is back at work. The Buffalo Bills safety is [cleared to play football]( four months after his on-field cardiac arrest. Sometimes you just need a career change. Federal prosecutors say they arrested an Air National Guardsman after he [applied to be a hitman]( online. The CEO of furniture company MillerKnoll is under fire after she told her employees to "[leave pity city]( and be better workers in response to a question about employee bonuses. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( --------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi. 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 Best of NPR emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]