Petition says ICE agents didn’t identify themselves before NY shooting
NPR’s Up First newsletter for October 15 features the GOP’s targeting of California-based Twitch streamer Hasan Piker ahead of the midterm elections. Piker has emerged as a key target for the Republican Party, according to the newsletter. President Trump recently labeled Piker a “terrible liability” and a “communist.” In Michigan, political ads attempting to link Piker to Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayef repeatedly play Piker’s most controversial statements, including the remark “America deserved 9/11.” Piker remains confident that he will not hinder Democrats this November. In a conversation with Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel, he reflects on his past remarks, the loneliness young men feel, and his critique of Tucker Carlson.
The newsletter also reports that a man shot and wounded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in New York last week says he did not know the men who shot him were ICE agents until after he woke up in the hospital. A petition filed in Brooklyn federal court says the agents — many of them masked — did not identify themselves before approaching Oscar Belgal’s vehicle with their firearms drawn. The filing contradicts the Trump administration’s version of events.
The newsletter leads with a Labor Department report showing consumer prices in September were 3.7% higher than they were a year ago. A spike in energy prices linked to the U.S. war with Iran drove up the cost of living. Excluding energy and food prices, core inflation reached 2.6% in September, up from August. The Social Security Administration announced a 3.6% increase in benefits for next year after the release of the inflation report. This annual cost-of-living adjustment is based on prices from July, August and September. Some recipients say the increase is not enough. NPR’s Planet Money reported that Social Security may run out of money to make full payments to retirees as soon as 2032.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times he will resume attacks on Russian oil refineries, despite President Trump’s request to refrain from doing so, and that he had ordered commanders to stand down earlier this week but wouldn’t anymore. The newsletter adds that Ukraine’s ability to conduct long-range attacks may be limited, as the country has faced sudden crippling restrictions on Starshield, the satellite communications system provided by the U.S. NPR’s Greg Myre tells Up First that the U.S. is “seemingly trying to limit Ukraine’s ability to fight Russia, though that has not been announced outright.” Ukraine’s defense ministry said operations are back to normal. The country relies on the Starshield system for offensive and defensive drones to protect against Russian strikes. Elon Musk, who developed the system for the U.S. government and military, says the U.S. government sets its speed and usage limits.
The newsletter’s “Picture show” section features Australian DJ Lenny Pearce and his toddler rave world tour — techno dance parties for families. Most of the dance floor is filled with children under the age of five. Around 5 p.m., the speakers blast nursery rhymes like “Bingo” and “The Wheels on the Bus,” while the bar offers a house specialty: apple juice. Pearce kicked off the North American leg of his tour in Baltimore and has sold-out shows in cities including New York and Los Angeles, after earlier stops in Bahrain, Singapore and India.
The newsletter’s “3 things to know before you go” section reports that coral reefs worldwide face rising threats and that scientists on a remote Pacific island discovered seabirds can help them. The section also surfaces the announcement from the New York City Council and Mayor Zohran Mamdani of plans to ban carriage horses in Central Park, reported by Gothamist. The final item is an NPR Far-Flung Postcards installment, by Eyder Peralta, on a Mexico City park where people still practice bullfighting, even though it is banned.
The newsletter was written by Brittney Melton and edited by Suzanne Nuyen.