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Today’s top stories
The U.S. Department of Justice is requesting an extensive amount of election data from Colorado. It’s specifically seeking “all records” related to the 2024 federal elections, according to documents obtained by NPR. Additionally, the DOJ has asked the state to preserve any remaining records from the 2020 election. Several voting experts and officials have informed NPR that this request is highly unusual and concerning, especially in light of President Trump’s false claims regarding elections.
Voters walk into the Oak Creek Town Hall to drop off their ballots on Nov. 5, 2024, in Oak Creek, Colo.
Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images
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Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images
Recent polling across various surveys shows a conflicting message about whether people approve of Trump’s deportation policies. This week, a CBS poll found 54% of people approved of his approach to deportation. But yesterday, a Quinnipiac poll showed 56% disapproved. The numbers indicate unpredictability within the public’s opinion, showing that a percentage of people are open to being swayed, NPR’s Domenico Montanaro tells Up First.
- 🎧 Even though people say they are in favor of deporting people who do not have permanent legal status, there is a difference between the hardened criminal that the administration says it is focused on and hardworking community members, Montanaro says. He reports that the president has received pushback from members of his own party, who warn that the administration should be cautious of how far it goes on the issue. Democrats have shied away from making a strong case in favor of immigration, but the further Trump goes on the matter, the easier it is for Democrats to have a message and appear united on the topic.
The Trump administration plans to repeal limits on greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s fossil fuel-fired power plants. These coal and gas generators are the second-largest source of climate pollution in the U.S., behind transportation. The proposal is part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to roll back more than two dozen rules and policies.
- 🎧 The EPA argues that the U.S. power plants are a small and declining part of global greenhouse gas emissions — around 3% — and they’re no longer a significant contributor to the problem. NPR’s Jeff Brady says that one analysis showed that if U.S. power plants were a country, they’d be the sixth-largest contributor to global climate pollution. “This action would be pretty laughable if the stakes weren’t so high,” says Meredith Hankins, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Hankins and others from the industry say the Trump administration is propping up the coal industry at a time when Americans are experiencing the effects of a hotter planet in the form of intense storms, flooding and wildfires.
Part of the Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” aims to penalize colleges and universities whose students leave with student loan debt but not enough earnings to pay it off. The proposal would order colleges to assume some of the financial responsibility for the unpaid debt. If it can make it through the Senate, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the proposal could save the government more than $6 billion over the next decade.
- 🎧 The proposal would categorize a school’s student loan borrowers by program and calculate the unpaid federal loan amounts for each program in a given year, NPR’s Cory Turner says. Colleges would then need to reimburse the federal government for a portion of this unpaid debt. Experts tell Turner that colleges need accountability, but a few are worried about the plan, which would require a ton of data.
Climate solutions week
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
NPR is dedicating this entire week to stories and conversations about the search for climate solutions for living and building on a hotter planet and how climate change affects decisions on where and how people live.
This year’s hurricane season is causing significant anxiety among residents from North Carolina to Florida, many of whom have not yet recovered from last year’s devastating storms. If you’re wondering how to prepare your home for potential flooding, there are valuable lessons to be learned from recent flood victims. Steve Papola, who is rebuilding with a focus on flooding and climate change, provides important insights to help others prepare. Here are some ways you can harden your home or business:
- 🏠 Your building materials matter. Many residents opt to install tile floors because the floodwaters don’t penetrate the grout.
- 🏠 Raising your home is expensive, but mandatory if you’re rebuilding in particular flood zones. FEMA requires that homes in flood zones be elevated at least 1 foot above the base flood elevation.
- 🏠 Consider flood insurance. If you rent in a low-lying area, renters’ insurance is not likely to cover your flooding losses.
🌎 Check out all of NPR’s Climate Solutions Week stories, including ways to protect your home from wildfires and balancing the need for more housing while preserving trees.
Deep dive
The Widener Library on the Harvard University Campus in Cambridge, Mass. The Trump administration issued a proclamation banning students from entering the U.S. to study at Harvard. This is one of the latest moves in the escalation between the president and elite colleges.
Cassandra Klos/Bloomberg/Getty Images
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Cassandra Klos/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Trump administration aims to transform elite universities by employing various tactics, with the goal of aligning higher education with its political agenda. Here are some of the ways the administration is going after colleges:
- 🏫 Over 24 universities are affected by the federal government’s cancellation of $11 billion in research funding. Harvard University has sued the administration, alleging that the president’s actions are retaliatory and illegal.
- 🏫 Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status, which is traditionally granted to universities for their educational mission. While the IRS can revoke this status, federal law restricts certain executive branch members from using the IRS to target specific taxpayers for political reasons.
- 🏫 Some elite institutions have accumulated huge endowments. Harvard’s is the largest at about $50 billion. The newly passed massive House bill proposes increasing the endowment tax based on a graduated rate structure, potentially raising taxes to 21% depending on the endowment size per student.
3 things to know before you go
Striking performers picket outside Disney Character Voices, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, in Burbank, California, in August.
Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty
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Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty
- Performers in the SAG-AFTRA union have suspended their nearly year-long strike against major video game companies, which had temporarily disrupted much of the game production process.
- Brian Wilson, co-founder of the iconic California band The Beach Boys, has died at the age of 82. He helped transform teen pop into a poetic and modernist musical form.
- In 2019, Darren Wayman was about to become a new father. When his wife, Bonny, went into labor, all his personal fears about whether he would be a good dad surfaced. However, a doctor, who turned out to be his unsung hero, entered the delivery room and said something that changed his perspective on parenthood, offering him the comfort he needed at that moment.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
