by Brittney Melton

August 2, 2026

Good morning. This week, thousands of people in France returned home as Western Europe tackles wildfires, Google paused an AI satellite tool after deepfake concerns, and K-pop group BTS announced it won’t submit their new music for Grammy consideration over new award category.

‘We Keep Us Safe’

by Will James, co-host of "We Keep Us Safe" from NPR's Embedded podcast

In the summer of 2020, Seattle reporters Sydney Brownstone, David Gutman, and I watched something unfold in our city that didn’t happen anywhere else. It haunted us for years afterward.

It started out like it did in many other cities: thousands of protesters pouring into the streets after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. In Seattle, protesters converged on a police precinct in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Russell Gossett/NPR

What happened next changed the trajectory of our city. After a weeklong standoff with protesters, police walked away from the precinct, clearing the way for protesters to occupy roughly eight square blocks near the heart of Seattle.

Protesters held the space for weeks, calling it the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, or CHOP. Police mostly stayed away. And the whole country watched a high-stakes experiment in self-governance unfold, one based on the ideals of racial justice and a leaderless, flat organizational structure.

At first, there was free food, movie nights in a park, speeches about what a more just world could look like.

By the end, a Black 16-year-old named Antonio Mays Jr. was dead. And witnesses said it was the protesters’ own volunteer security forces who shot him. Protesters claimed Antonio attacked CHOP in a stolen Jeep and people protecting the occupation shot him in self-defense.

Days later, police swept through and dismantled CHOP. Soon, the city’s attention turned elsewhere. Sydney, David, and I waited for some kind of resolution – namely, the identity of whoever killed Antonio. When that never came, we moved on to other stories.

We walked away from that summer with certain moments seared in our memories. The un-scatchable itch of tear gas in the back of the throat. The roar of thousands of people cresting like a wave followed by police flashbangs booming against our eardrums.

And, for years, a feeling: that our coverage of that summer was incomplete, that we never came to really understand what happened to the teenager who died.

Five years later, Antonio’s killing was still unsolved. And it felt like the people closest to what happened had built a wall of silence around certain questions. Who killed him? And how did a protest for Black lives become such a dangerous place for a Black teenager?

Right away in our investigation, we found new information that changed our understanding of what happened to Antonio. We found out he left his dad a note saying he was leaving home to protest, to join what he saw as his generation’s Civil Rights Movement. Why would a teen who came to CHOP to protest attack the occupation days later?

We talked to nearly 100 people: police officials and protest leaders, eyewitnesses and members of CHOP’s elusive security forces. Livestreamers gave us their never-before-seen footage and we went through dozens of hours of it. We had a hunch that there were clues hiding in those recordings – and that witnesses who stayed quiet in 2020 might open up years later.

We were right. The investigation, which unfolds in a new series from NPR’s Embedded podcast called “We Keep Us Safe,” confirmed our suspicion that when lots of people don't want you to question a story, that's all the more reason to do it.

Find “We Keep Us Safe” in NPR’s Embedded feed now.

Check out more great reads from the NPR network you may have missed:

➡️ Personal bankruptcies are rising. More than half a million Americans filed for bankruptcy last year, a nearly 50% increase over the past three years. While filings remain below pre-pandemic levels, rising debt and higher living costs appear to be catching up with many households.
➡️ Federal recognition was a milestone for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. But tribal leaders and healthcare providers say funding alone won't solve longstanding challenges, including chronic underfunding of the Indian Health Service.
➡️ Democrats are divided over Israel policy. A recent House amendment to eliminate $3.3 billion in U.S. military and humanitarian aid to Israel showed 103 House Democrats voted to cut the aid, 98 voted to keep it, and 10 abstained. Following the split vote, the party is grappling with how to project unity while its voters – and even its Democratic leadership–aren't aligned on U.S. support for Israel.

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Pod Club

NPR

Thanks for tuning in last week to the Wild Card with Rachel Martin episode featuring actress Tracee Ellis Ross. Ross joined Martin to discuss pivotal decisions she has made, what it was like to have Diana Ross as her mom, and the power of a good dog. In the episode, Ross asks, “Are you willing to be responsible for your own happiness?” and the Up First newsletter team wanted to know what that means to you. ”We are the storytellers of our lives,” NPR listener Fable Kattison said. “The goal is to tell stories worth retelling.”

Today, we’re listening to Throughline: “The Chinafication of Walmart.” The superstore is often considered ultra-American, but its business ties with China changed American retail. The podcast explores how it helped make China the world’s factory and became the largest U.S. importer of Chinese consumer goods. Listen to the episode or read the transcript.

After listening, do you think American-made products can compete with Chinese products when it comes to prices? Let us know by clicking here. Your response could appear in next week's Sunday newsletter.

Love podcasts? For handpicked episode recommendations every week, check out Pod Club — a newsletter written FOR podcast fans BY podcast fans. Subscribe here!

And, on this week's episode of The Sunday Story from Up First, our The NPR Politics Podcast colleagues join us to talk about how Republicans are embracing a new strategy: they're accusing democratic socialists of being "communists" ahead of the midterms.

Backward Brands

The words "Sunday Puzzle" over a white background. The name "Will Shortz" is under the Sunday Puzzle title, etched into red dice.

NPR

It's time for the Sunday Puzzle! For this week’s on-air challenge, every answer is a brand name that spells something in reverse. For example, if you are given the clue “Soap and a word meaning placed,” the answer would be “DIAL and LAID.” Test your skills here. Check the page later to hear the answers, or catch them live on Weekend Edition at 8:41 a.m. ET.

This week's online challenge comes from Michael Schwartz, of Florence, Ore. Think of a type of exercise equipment in three syllables. Remove the two middle letters and you'll name a means of transportation. What words are these? Submit your answer here, and you could win a chance to play next Sunday's on-air puzzle.

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This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.

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