Up First briefing: Climate-conscious buildings; Texas abortion bans; GMO mosquitoes

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Today's top stories

From rain and flooding to extreme heat waves with temperatures above 110 degrees, climate change has taken its toll nationwide. On Up First this morning, NPR's Lauren Sommer says the weather-related disasters Americans are seeing this summer are what science says we should expect.

• Whether conditions will worsen depends on "how fast we can cut emissions," Sommer says. She adds extreme heat waves could be almost three times as common if emissions don't fall fast enough. Sommer spoke to a climate scientist who says it's time to think long-term and start transforming buildings and infrastructure to consider climate change.

Russia's defense ministry said yesterday it will consider all ships in the Black Sea heading toward Ukraine "hostile." The announcement comes after Russia withdrew early this week from a deal allowing grain exports from Ukrainian ports. Strikes followed the withdrawal, which Ukraine said were aimed at a key grain export point.

• Though Russians haven't explicitly said they would attack the ships, NPR's Joanna Kakissis says the implication is clear, making it "very hard to convince commercial shipping companies to use the Black Sea shipping route."
• Here's what the end of the grain deal means for food security and global food prices. 

Physicians will testify today for the second day of a court hearing challenging Texas' abortion ban. One physician is among the 13 women — denied abortions despite pregnancy complications — suing Texas AG Ken Paxton and the state medical board. The others will provide expert testimony.

• NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffins says yesterday's testimony from other women was intense, and at times, everyone was crying — including state attorneys. The women want a temporary injunction on Texas' abortion ban for cases of pregnancy complications. But state attorneys want the case dismissed, arguing the doctors should be blamed for denying care.

Researchers are taking a radical approach to fight malaria, a disease carried by mosquitoes that kills hundreds of thousands yearly. Rather than trying to control mosquito populations, some scientists want to genetically engineer them to be inhospitable to the malaria pathogen, making them allies in the fight against the disease. But environmentalists are troubled by the idea of releasing genetically engineered animals into the wild.

From our hosts

This essay is written by Michel Martin. She is Morning Edition's newest host. She's previously hosted Weekend All Things Considered, the Consider This Saturday podcast and Tell Me More.

Let me get one thing straight: Unlike the magnificent Madhur Jaffrey, I could always cook a little something.

She explains in the introduction to her classic An Invitation to Indian Cooking (now being reissued after 50 years) that, having grown up with servants in India, she never cooked until she went to drama school in the UK. There, the "see-through slice of roast beef accompanied by watery potatoes and cabbage " was enough to prompt her to beg her mother to send her recipes. The rest, as they say, is history: Jaffrey went on to write dozens of cookbooks (and to star in movies, illustrate books, raise a family — she is annoyingly accomplished!)

But it all started 50 years ago with that first cookbook

I still have my original copy! I did not grow up with servants. Both my parents worked, and I wanted to help out. She wasn't a fool — my mom encouraged me. She got me a Betty Crocker kids' cookbook when I was maybe nine or 10. I went through every single recipe.

Later, as a young adult, I wanted to cook for my roommates (and perhaps a boyfriend?). I don't remember how or why I picked it up. I know that I loved Jaffrey's food. Most of all, I loved the encouragement. Jaffrey's message is one we can all relate to: Food is sustenance. It's also love and culture, and it is meant to be shared.

Enlighten me

Enlighten Me is a special series with NPR's Rachel Martin on in-depth conversations about the human condition.

Longtime journalist Dan Harris worked with Rachel Martin at ABC News from 2008-2009. In 2014, he published 10% Happier, a memoir and beginner's guide to meditation. Harris launched an app and podcast after the book's popularity and left ABC News. Harris and Martin catch up and discuss Western mindfulness, Buddhism and the on-air panic attack that changed his life.

3 things to know before you go

1. Marc Tessier-Lavigne, president of Stanford University, has resigned after the board of trustees concluded that several academic papers he authored contained manipulated data.
2. Days after Carlee Russell returned, police say they still have no evidence of the missing toddler she reported to 911, and she was making abducted related searches before her disappearance. Russell vanished last Thursday and returned Saturday after she said she saw a child wandering on the Alabama interstate. 
3. As Hollywood actors and writers strike, Netflix announced its Q2 financials yesterday, revealing steady growth for the streaming service.

This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.