How a cheer team is healing one year after a racist mass shooting

Plus, meet Denise, a gum-snapping, bathrobe-clad receptionist for heaven. [View this email online]( [NPR Up First Newsletter]( by [Suzanne Nuyen]( May 21, 2023 Good morning. This week, [Vice Media filed for bankruptcy]( [California bees attacked]( and [Montana banned Tiktok](. Plus, Scott Simon speaks to country singer/songwriter Marty Stuart. Best of NPR On May 14, 2022, the world changed for Buffalo, New York, residents when a white man approached the Jefferson Street Tops supermarket and started shooting. He [killed 10 people and injured three more](. Nearly all of his victims were Black. One year later, NPR is taking another look at the story through the eyes of Buffalo All-Star Extreme, or BASE, a Black cheer team. [A graphic that shows silhouettes of two children playing over a blue background. In the top left hand corner is the title: Buffalo Extreme. ]( Raquel Scoggin/NPR Embedded: Buffalo Extreme is a [three-part series]( in which the girls, their moms and their coaches will share their experiences navigating the complicated path to recovery. 🎧 Ayanna Williams Gaines takes the mic for the first episode. She's the coach and founder of BASE. Her gym, which is only a few blocks away from the site of the shooting, was meant to be a space for Black girls to thrive in a predominantly white sport. Williams shares [how she faced the challenge]( of ensuring her girls felt safe and confident after the massacre. Keep an eye out two more episodes of Embedded: Buffalo Extreme. Episodes will be released weekly. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- The Week That Was [A screenshot of a TikTok video from Taryn Delanie Smith, who plays Denise, a character helping the internet cope with grief.]( Screenshot by NPR/TikTok @taryntino21 What happens after you die? Fans of TikToker Taryn Delanie Smith probably believe they'll be transported to a waiting room in heaven, where they're greeted by a [gum-snapping, bathrobe-cad receptionist](. Her comedic and moving skits have helped countless fans process their grief. Did your car get booted? The Boot Girls are coming to the rescue, if you're in Atlanta. Boot Baby and Boot Sheisty have become the city's [most sought-after entrepreneurs](. Armed with $50 keys, they're undercutting the controversial and often shady vehicle-booting industry. Police officers regularly report being poisoned or overdosing after encountering trace amounts of fentanyl on the job. Medical experts say [it's not true](. 🎧 Listen to why they're worried about the dangers of a [fentanyl panic]( instead. Georgia is the latest state to enact a law that allows hospitals to create independent police forces. The policy aims to protect hospital staff against violence from patients. Critics worry the law enforcement focus could have [unintended consequences](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Podcast Picks [A compilation of 6 podcast title tiles. The top row from left to right includes: "More Perfect from WNYC, "Ten Thousand Things" from KUOW, and "Right Nowish" from KQED. The bottom row from left to right includes: "Sea Change" from PRX, NPR's "Embedded," and "Seeking a Scientist."]( WNYC Studios; KUOW; KQED; KCUR; NPR; WWNO and WRKF More Perfect from WNYC: Take a down-to-earth look at the highest court in the land and hear stories about the [human dramas at the Supreme Court]( that shape so many aspects of American life. 🎧 More than 30 years ago, a Native American named Al Smith was fired for ingesting peyote at a religious ceremony. This episode takes a look at the Supreme Court decision that [set off a thorny debate]( we still have today over religious people sidestepping the law. Shoes Off: A Sexy Asians Podcast from WBEZ: Celebrate badass Asians [making a mark on pop culture]( and entertainment with hosts Esther Yoon-Ji Kang and Susie An. 🎧 John Cho won't call himself sexy, but we will. In this episode, the actor talks about taking a stand in the jobs he accepted, what it was like to write a young adult novel, and about [that one time he got arrested](. Thirst Gap: Learning To Live With Less On The Colorado River from KUNC: This six-episode series explores how the Southwest is [adapting to water shortages]( as climate change causes the region to warm up and dry out. 🎧 The first episode in the series [traces the roots]( of the Colorado River's current crisis. Check out more can't-miss podcasts [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Image: Amazon Music Promo]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Scott's Thoughts [Marty Stuart] David McClister/Courtesy of the artist I agree with country music great Marty Stuart (and how many times can I start a sentence that way?) that Hank Williams’ songs can match Shakespeare: “The silence of a falling star / Lights up a purple sky / And as I wonder where you are / I'm so lonesome I could cry.” Dang, that’s great. Stuart, who has crafted some fine words himself ("I need one good honky-tonk angel / To turn my life around / That's reason enough for me to lay / This ol' bottle down") joined us to talk about his new release, [Altitude]( and spoke lyrically about how songs get into his mind and heart. He sees them in us. “I love the audience,” he said. “They think they’re there to see us, but the audience is as much of a show to me as we are to them. I love looking at people and imagining what their circumstances are. A lot of people you can read like a book, what’s in their faces and hearts.” And while he was glad to be home during the pandemic with his wife, country great Connie Smith, he also loves being back on the road. “The road is my office,” he told us. “Report on what you see. That’s a troubadour’s job.” It was also our sadder duty to speak this week with Dionne and Terrance Mhoon, the parents of slain 24-year-old Chicago Police Officer [Aréanah Preston](. And this week’s essay: A glimpse of hope on a [rusty river pylon](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. 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