Olivia Rodrigo's festival raises $20 million for women and girls

Trump pledges $5,000 dividend per adult citizen if GOP keeps Congress

Olivia Rodrigo’s inaugural Daisy Chain Fields music festival, held the previous month with an all-women lineup, raised $20 million for 10 organizations supporting women and girls, NPR reported in its Up First newsletter. NPR described Rodrigo as one of pop music’s biggest stars and said she was using her fame to speak out about political rights.

In an interview with Morning Edition, Rodrigo told host Leila Fadel that she felt it was important to hold the festival now because many people are feeling discouraged by efforts to strip away their rights. “I think that the people who want to keep us down are really relying on us feeling alone and overwhelmed,” Rodrigo said. “And I think that the antidote to that is joy and community.”

At the festival, Rodrigo performed her single “Serena Joy” on stage for the first time. NPR reported that the song takes its name from a character in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale who wrote about the threat to all of our human rights.

Apple’s new CEO, John Ternus, unveiled a foldable device called iPhone Duo the previous day. NPR described the design as the most radical change to the iconic phone since its introduction nearly 20 years ago.

NPR’s John Ruwitch said Ternus took on his role at a time when Apple has been criticized for losing some of the “wow factor” of the Steve Jobs era. Foldable phones have been on the market for years, Ruwitch said, giving Apple the advantage of learning from the market’s successes and failures. One of the things Apple does best, Ruwitch added, is enter markets late with well-designed, user-friendly products.

During his more-than-90-minute address at the GOP midterm convention the previous night, President Trump promised a $5,000 dividend to every adult citizen if the Republican Party maintains control of Congress in the upcoming election. Trump did not provide details on where the money would come from, NPR reported. According to the latest Census data NPR cited, implementing such payments could cost $1 trillion or more.

NPR described Trump’s speech as not far from his typical rally themes. Trump discussed tariffs, the importance of dismantling Iran’s nuclear program and the need for a bill to restrict voter identification and registration requirements. He also claimed that inflation is lower than it was when he took office.

NPR’s Stephen Fowler told Up First that the focus of the president’s speech was Trump. Public polls show Republicans may lose control of both the House and the Senate this year. Fowler called the current GOP an “unprecedented party” centered on an administration dominated by decisions made by Trump — “often seemingly for his own benefit” — citing the construction of a ballroom, the renaming of landmarks to spite allies and the placement of Trump’s face on a coin. Voters say they want the Republican-controlled federal government to focus on issues such as rising gas prices and the war in Iran. If the GOP adjusts its course, Fowler said, there is potential for a shift in voters’ viewpoint.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania made a surprise appearance at the convention in a 64-second video introducing Republican Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania. NPR also reported on what to expect during the convention’s second night.

In Missouri, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was set to face the state Supreme Court on September 10 to explain why he should not be held in contempt, NPR reported. Hoskins faces two conflicting court rulings regarding a Republican redistricting plan that could influence the outcome of the midterm elections. NPR reported that Hoskins followed one of the conflicting rulings rather than the state Supreme Court’s decision, which the previous week had rejected the Republican map that could help the GOP win a House seat.

The court mandated that the new map be approved by voters in November before it can take effect and said Hoskins has intentionally delayed the process, according to Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio, an NPR member station. The primaries have already taken place under the Republican plan, and now election officials are uncertain about which congressional districts voters will belong to in the midterms, Rosenbaum reported.

September 10 also marked one year since a gunman fatally shot Charlie Kirk during a talk at Utah Valley University. Kirk’s death galvanized many in the Republican Party but has left questions about the future of his movement, NPR reported.

A little more than a decade before he died, Kirk founded Turning Point to engage more young people in conservative politics. Over the next 10 years, he became a key figure among Generation Z and millennial conservatives. As his young supporters reflect on the past year, NPR reported, they describe a complex reality: rather than uniting, the movement faces uncertainty about its future, struggles to rally around a new leader and grapples with the same divisions affecting the broader Republican Party.

In other coverage from the same NPR newsletter, the artificial-intelligence company Anthropic has developed an interactive tool to test how AI could affect the U.S. economy. A researcher from the company resigned the previous day, saying he feared that AI could be disastrous to humanity, NPR reported.

Separately, Kelly Rogers abruptly announced her resignation as leader of the Education Department’s special education office after less than four months in the position.

In its Life Kit feature, NPR reported that conflict in relationships is not always a bad thing — in fact, it can be necessary for maintaining a close and authentic connection with loved ones. Conflict resolution facilitator Priya Parker shared strategies for starting and ending disagreements while minimizing discomfort for those involved, and the Life Kit team presented Parker’s advice in comic form.

Parker advised those deciding whether to engage in a conflict to ask themselves whether they care enough for this person, whether they still long for this relationship, whether the conflict challenges a core value and whether saying something could alter the situation. Before fighting, Parker recommended making sure they understand what the conflict is really about so they and their loved one can have the right conversation. She advised taking deep breaths, shaking out one’s limbs, staying focused on the present and avoiding rehashing past arguments to ease discomfort. After an argument, Parker recommended reflecting on what was discussed together, without judgment.

In the latest installment of NPR’s Far-Flung Postcards, Hannah Bloch sent greetings from Paris, where the floating Olympic cauldron is still rising in the nighttime sky two years after the 2024 Paris Games.