Mike Pence runs for president; PGA and LIV Golf will merge; gun deaths reach record high again

Plus, why Florida Republicans are touting loopholes in a law they voted for. [View this email online]( [NPR Up First Newsletter]( by [Suzanne Nuyen]( June 7, 2023 Good morning. Get ready to make some dinner reservations: these are the 2023 winners of the [James Beard awards]( known as the Oscars of the food world. Here's what else we're following today. Former Vice President Mike Pence is celebrating his birthday in a big way — he announced his [2024 presidential campaign]( this morning. He joins a [crowded group]( of GOP candidates, with former President Trump leading. [Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Westside Conservative Club Breakfast, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Urbandale, Iowa.]( Charlie Neibergall/AP 🎧 NPR's Kelsey Snell says that Pence has criticized Trump in the past, but he is [not the central message]( of Pence's campaign, unlike former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who announced his bid yesterday and has been aggressively targeting Trump. On Up First today, she reports Pence is focusing on free trade, fair markets and Christian family values. The PGA tour is merging with its Saudi-backed rival, LIV Golf and [creating a new entity](. The PGA will gain majority board seats and Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund, will become chairman. 🎧 The deal was a surprise to everyone, including star golf players, according to The New Yorker's Zach Helfand. When asked if the deal is a way for the Saudis to cover up its poor human rights record, Helfand said this aspect "[has been a little bit overblown]( and people tell him a golf league can't wash away human rights abuses. Instead, the league will serve Saudi business and economic needs. Florida's new [anti-immigration]( law goes into effect next month. Republicans who voted for the legislation are now touting the many "loopholes" in the law to prevent a [potential exodus]( of undocumented residents. GOP Rep. Rick Roth tells NPR that this will make the agricultural worker shortage worse. U.S. gun deaths reached an all time high for a second consecutive year in 2021, according to a study from [Johns Hopkins University](. The study found firearms violence to be the leading cause of death for children and young adults, especially among Black children and teens. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- [A poster for the movie "Goodbye Julia"]( Station Films and Ambient Light — [Leila Fadel]( Morning Edition host ​​Hey. It’s Leila Fadel from Morning Edition. Right now, people are being killed in Sudan as two generals vie for political power. Three months before this conflict broke out, Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani finished filming Goodbye Julia, a film mostly set in Sudan’s capital Khartoum. Just two days before the conflict began on April 15, Kordofani flew to Beirut for sound design. Now, his film is a portrait of Khartoum before: before buildings were reduced to rubble, before looting, before fires and blasts and gun battles began. Kordofani’s film is a story of an unlikely friendship between two women whose paths would never have crossed had it not been for a death caused by racism. Mona is an upper-class Arab Muslim from Khartoum, and Julia is a southern Sudanese Christian trying to get by in the capital. The film is set in the years before South Sudan became independent, just as Sudan is emerging from an almost 22-year civil war. Kordofani uses the relationship between these two women to explore the ethnic, racial, tribal and religious divides that have fractured his country and led to conflict. The film is a dream about unity set in the reality of separation and bigotry. 🎧 Listen [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [: Lakeisha Lee, a woman wearing a yellow dress and jean jacket, poses next to a monument honoring her sister Brittany Clardy. Clardy went missing more than a decade ago and was found murdered.]( Dana Ferguson/MPR News Lakeisha Lee's and her family immediately contacted the police when her sister, Brittany Clardy, went missing, but they were brushed off. Clardy was later found murdered. For the past few years, Lee has led a task force in Minnesota dedicated to understanding why Black women go missing. Now, her state is creating the nation's first Office of Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls. 🎧 Listen to [how it can help Black women]( and their families, or [read the story](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Mark Zuckerberg, left, alongside Jeff Ibrahim, center, following their jiu-jitsu match on May 6 in California. One of the third place competitors, Henry Francisco, is at right.]( Sooner Ibrahim Who would win in a fight: Mark Zuckerberg or a 4-year-old hospital storekeeper named Jeff Ibrahim? The two faced off in a [gold medal round of a jiu-jitsu competition]( in California. Wildfires in the Canadian province of Québec have caused [air quality]( across the Northeast U.S. to plummet, according to the National Weather Service. Whether you're at a comedy club or you're a medieval lord, a 15th century manuscript reveals [comedy has remained similar]( through history. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Up First emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]