SCOTUS Gun Ruling, Early Heat Wave Hurts, French Right Wing Rises

0:01The Supreme Court decides a case in favor of gun restrictions. The majority upholds a law forbidding people from having a gun if they are subject to a restraining order. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And I'm Don Gagne, and this is Up First from NPR News. The ruling's considered an important win for victims of domestic violence. They are much more likely to die when their abuser has access to firearms. We'll have more on that, plus what's so different about the heat wave that's hit the Midwest and East Coast. It's caught our bodies off guard. And in France, a far-right political party is gaining support from Jewish voters just ahead of parliamentary elections.

0:47Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.

0:57This message comes from NPR sponsor Walmart. Did you know that Walmart is one of Fortune's 100 best companies to work for in 2025? It's no surprise. Walmart is investing$1 billion in training and development to help associates build lasting careers with or without a degree. In fact, 75 % of Walmart management started in hourly roles. With benefits like health care, paid parental leave, and tuition support, Walmart isn't just a place to work. It's a place to grow. Learn more at walmart.com slash spark. The Supreme Court case involved a man found with guns in his house, even though his ex-girlfriend had a restraining order against him.

1:43Zaki Rahimi had assaulted and threatened his girlfriend and was involved in five shootings in his home state of Texas. Reporter Paige Flager from member station WPLN joins us now to talk about that. Hi, Paige. Hey, Aisha. Advocates who work with domestic violence victims have pushed to keep abusers from having guns for a long time. But getting that type of protection from the criminal justice system has been difficult. Why is that? So there are multiple routes that a victim can take when they turn to the justice system for help. There's criminal prosecution, but that can take a really long time.

2:19And then there's orders of protection, which are civil matters. The issue at hand here with the Supreme Court case was whether a civil matter, like a protection order, could carry penalties like being required to give up your gun. Some gun rights groups said protection orders are just too easy to get. But Natalie Nanasi, a law professor and domestic violence expert, disagrees. There is a myth out there that it is very easy to get a protective order, that judges are just handing out protective orders like candy to trick-or-treaters. And that's absolutely not the case. For example, here in Davidson County, where Nashville is, only about a third of the people who seek protection orders end up getting one.

3:00And that can be for all sorts of reasons. Victims don't want to face their abusers in court or a judge can find that a victim isn't credible. And so then comes this federal ban that keeps, you know, dangerous people from possessing and owning a gun. It has a lot of facts on its side, right? Yeah, that's right. So there's a lot of research on this. But the big takeaway is that domestic abusers and guns are a dangerous combination. Studies show victims are five times more likely to be killed in a domestic violence incident when the abuser has access to a gun, and the dangers extend to others. One study showed domestic violence calls are the most dangerous for law enforcement, and research has found that mass shooters often have a history of domestic violence.

3:45That's why the federal ban is the bare minimum, says Julia Weber, an expert on gun dispossession. I want us to take domestic violence and access to firearms more seriously and do a better job separating someone who a court has deemed as needing to be prohibited from those firearms as close to the time of prohibition as possible. That's critical. Weber says this decision from the Supreme Court is a great time to take stock of the ways that the system, as it stands, can be improved. What are some of the issues that still aren't addressed in terms of protecting victims of domestic violence, even with the Supreme Court ruling on gun possession?

4:25There's really a patchwork of laws across the country for how gun dispossession works, which can make things really difficult. Most states have no way to track how many guns someone has. About a dozen states allow someone who's ordered to give up their guns, give them to a third party, like a friend or a relative. And here in my state, Tennessee, it's the only place where a person doesn't even have to say who they gave their guns to. Advocates say that's a really dangerous loophole that relies on the honor system. So it's easy for guns to slip through the cracks and the consequences can be deadly.

5:01And you've reported on that in depth, right? Yeah. In an investigation we published with ProPublica, we found that in Nashville, nearly 40 percent of the victims shot in domestic violence homicides since 2007 were killed by people who were legally barred from having a gun at the time of the shooting. So advocates say the stakes here are incredibly high. That's WPLN's Paige Flager. Thanks so much, Paige. Thanks, Aisha.

5:37New Jersey school districts are dismissing kids early. In New York, swimming pools are opening days ahead of schedule. Doctors warn this early heat wave can be especially dangerous to your body. Alejandra Barunda from NPR's Climate Desk joins us to explain why. Hi there. Hi Don. What is it about this heat wave that is putting people especially at risk? Well, it's the first big heat of the season in the eastern part of the country. It was nearly 100 degrees the other day in Maine. And that really means that people's bodies just aren't yet ready for heat. There's actually a bunch of research showing that more people end up in the hospital or even die during the year's first heat wave.

6:19In a study in Boston, for example, older people were about three times as likely to go to the ER for heat problems during that initial heat wave versus the following one. So our bodies respond to heat differently in June than they will say in August? Yeah, it's really interesting, actually. Our bodies adjust to heat exposure in a process called acclimatization, and it usually takes a few weeks of experiencing hot temperatures to get there. Here's how it works. First, when it gets hot, our hearts have to work overtime to pump blood away from the core, from our internal organs, in order to protect them.

6:53Our hearts send that hot blood toward the skin, and that's actually a lot of work. So people's heart rates go up, the heart has to pump more blood with every beat. Dan Veselio is a heat expert at George Mason University. It was 90 degrees out when we talked. He says after it's been hot for a bit and people start acclimatizing. We see our heart does a better job at pumping that blood to increase that skin blood flow. Each pump gets stronger and more efficient. So we're pumping more blood with less strain on our heart as we're more readily exposed to the heat. It's honestly quite a lot like getting into shape.

7:26And that's not all. How people sweat also changes. Like, it gets less salty. And so how does less salty sweat help? Yeah, it's really interesting, right? It means you hold onto your electrolytes better, and your blood stays properly balanced chemically. And this is actually really cool, too. Less salty sweat actually evaporates more easily, and sweat evaporation is the main way that our bodies shed heat. People also start sweating sooner. Here's Veselio again. Before, where it might have had to bed 90 degrees outside for our brain to think, oh, I'm getting hot, it's time to start sweating. Now it might think at 87 or 88 degrees.

8:05Our bodies also make more sweat, which helps with the evaporation and therefore cooling. Okay, so here's where people in the East and Midwest right now need to pay close attention. What precautions might they take that can help during this early season heat? Yeah, heat stress can really blindside people. So taking it seriously, even when it doesn't sound too risky, is really important. I spoke to Ashley McClure, a doctor in the Bay Area in California. She says climate change is changing the flavor of heat season, and it's catching her patients off guard. When that starts happening sooner, you know, people aren't really thinking about it in May or June.

8:43You know, we often think about those intense heat waves being more July and August. That's especially because heat waves now last longer and are hotter. That's a hallmark of climate change. So she says, drink lots of water, stay cool, especially at night, and take lots of breaks before you get too hot. Just let your body ease into summer gently. NPR's Alejandra Barunda, thanks so much. Yeah, great to talk.

9:19The political landscape in France is shifting. Left-wing parties are being accused of anti-Semitism, and the right-wing National Rally Party has softened its positions. Now, a prominent Jewish figure recently expressed support for the National Rally Party. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley joins us now from Paris. Hi, Eleanor. Hi, Don. So remind us why France is holding elections now. I mean, this is all in the wake of the EU elections, right? Absolutely. You know, Marine Le Pen's so-called far-right party got 31 percent of the vote. That's double what Macron got, and nobody else even came close. And he said he could not continue his three years without a clear message from the French people.

10:01He said, you go choose your government. So he dissolved parliament, called snap elections. He's betting the French were just letting off steam in the EU vote, and they won't actually pick the far right to run their own country. But it's a huge risk for Macron because the far right could win. You know, we're in the Fast and Furious two-week campaign season. The first round is next weekend. The second round is July 7th. So who's running? So who is running? We have Macron's centrist party and all of the splinter parties, because the mainstream left imploded several years ago. They've formed a coalition.

10:34Macron is not very popular after being in power seven years. Polls give him a 28 percent approval rating. You might remember the yellow vest protest that went on for more than a year, and he He also pushed through an unpopular raising of the retirement age against protests. So he's angered working class voters. Meanwhile, immigration is still a problem. Security problems are getting worse, people say. And this is what has fueled the far right all these years. So we have Le Pen's National Rally Party, which is more popular than ever. And there's a real chance, Don, that the second round runoff in these elections will be a contest between the two extremes, the left and the right.

11:11But who is more extreme these days is shifting. Historically, the far-right party is the extremist xenophobic anti-Semitic party, and the French have always come together to block it. But these days, the far left is seen as increasingly anti-Semitic. Is that what's behind this endorsement of the National Rally Party by a prominent member of the French Jewish community? Absolutely. This person is Serge Klarsfeld. He's a Holocaust survivor and a Nazi hunter. He and his wife literally spent their lives hunting down Nazis across the world and bringing them to justice. So he's a huge moral figure in France and beyond.

11:46And he spoke this week on television, and he said if it came down to choosing between the two, far left, far right, he had no hesitation. Let's listen. He says, I will vote for the National Rally Party rather than the left. We're confronted with an extreme left that's anti-Semitic and violently anti-Zionist and a party on the right that has changed and supports our values today. You know, the National Rally Party is not the same party as the one founded by Marine Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in the 1970s. She took over in 2010 and she's trying to mainstream it and she has de-demonized it.

12:24That's what they call it. She's broken with the old guard and the old stances like anti-Semitism. And you see that at the rallies. You see young people, professionals, and there's a new leader, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella. He's brought a lot of them in. And so Marine Le Pen also condemned the attack on Israel by Hamas October 7th, while the far left in France has taken a very hostile attitude towards Israel, is very pro-Palestinian, and critics say it is becoming the new party of anti-Semitism. I know you've been out and about talking to voters. What are you hearing from them? Absolutely. Many voters are angry that Macron did this, put the country in this situation.

13:00And people are also shocked that it's the extremes that may be in the second round runoff. But as I said, many voters now see the far left is more of a threat than the far right. I spoke to one voter, a Jewish voter, Jordan Naum, and he said if it comes down to it, many Jewish voters like him also wouldn't hesitate in who they support. I am going to vote without a doubt for the so-called extreme rights. Just because it's a lot less violent. I feel like the extreme left is much more violent than the extreme right nowadays. France has the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in Europe. He said their biggest worry is radical Islam and anti-Semitism from the Muslim community.

13:42France has had terrorist attacks in recent years. And he says that Marine Le Pen is seen as a bulwark against these extremists. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley. Eleanor, thanks very much. Thank you, Don.

13:59And that's up first for Saturday, June 22nd, 2024. I'm Aisha Roska. And I'm Don Gagne. Fernando Nauron produced today's episode with help from Martin Patience. Andrew Craig was the director. It was edited by Shannon Rhodes, Gigi Dubin, Ed McNulty, Peter Granitz, and Matthew Sherman. Our technical director is Hannah Glovna with engineering support from Phil Edvers, Tom Marquito and Ted Meebane. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Oliver is our executive producer. Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor. Tomorrow on the Sunday Story podcast, the closure of a state psychiatric institution in Seattle in 1973 and what it says about the effort to integrate people with mental illness in society.

14:50You can listen to more news, interviews, sports all weekend long on your NPR station. And hopefully some of it will be more uplifting than this episode of Up First has been. To find your station, go to stations.npr.org.