Jailed U.S. reporter's Russian trial begins. A strange monolith appears near Las Vegas

Today's top stories

Deadly protests broke out yesterday in Kenya’s capital Nairobi against a proposed tax hike meant to pay off the country’s huge foreign debt. Police opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas at young protesters as they attempted to storm the Parliament building in Nairobi. Several people were killed and others injured.

• 🎧 Journalist Emmanuel Igunza saw the violence firsthand. He tells Up First that these youth-led protests started out as opposition to a proposed bill seeking to raise about $2.9 billion in taxes. But protesters say the taxes will make life much harder as it targets items like sanitary pads and diapers; there's also an increase in fuel taxes. This is all happening as the first U.N.-back contingent of Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti to try and restore law and order. Kenyan President William Ruto, has styled himself internationally as a strong ally of the West, but there is a local perception that “he's doing the dirty work for the U.S. in Haiti while his own backyard is on fire,” Igunza says.

​​​​​​Meanwhile, in the U.S.: The Veepstakes is on. The first presidential debate may be top of mind now, but the Republican National Convention is less than three weeks away. This leaves former President Donald Trump little time to pick a running mate. He’s treating the search much like his old days hosting "The Apprentice" — and vice president nominee hopefuls are rushing to make their final sales pitch.

• 🎧 NPR’s Jeongyoon Han, who’s been following his VP search, says on Up First that Trump is doing all of this just to show that he can. Han spoke with Republican strategist Ron Bonjean who told her that Trump is intentionally stoking intrigue around the search. She says five candidates are rising to the top of the vice president list in her analysis because they are all trying to show Trump that they are loyal and willing to defend him. She adds that they're all relatively young and have long careers ahead of them, so they're already looking into 2028.

​​​​​​Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's trial began behind closed doors today in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison if the court finds him guilty of espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government strongly deny.

• 🎧  NPR's Charles Maynes reports that the press was briefly allowed into the courtroom before the proceedings started. In a video published by state media, Gershkovich appeared with head shaven, in a padlocked glass cage. He smiled briefly and waved to the camera before journalists were escorted out. Maynes adds that Gershkovich's employer said he was fully accredited and vetted by the Russian Foreign Ministry at the time of his arrest. Maynes explains, "He, like anyone working in Russia as a journalist, including me, went through background checks."

Picture show

What in the world is an Earthship? If you want to find out, there’s a whole subdivision of these energy-efficient homes in the high desert of northern New Mexico. The construction site of a new Earthship might look like the aftermath of a frat party, but that’s only because these sustainably constructed buildings are made with old aluminum cans and discarded tires. Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd recently spent some time in one.

➡️ You can see photos of his visit here and learn how these structures hover around 70 degrees year round without AC or heating. (Via WBUR)

Deep dive

Nearly all of Gaza’s population is struggling with food shortages and hunger, and half a million people now face starvation, according to a new report. The analysis was conducted by 35 experts from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classifications, some from U.N. agencies and major aid groups. The I.P.C. was founded two decades ago to address famine in Somalia at the time.

Here’s what their new analysis found:

• ➡️ After aid access reportedly improved in March and April, increased military action and repeated displacement in May made conditions worse and blocked life-saving aid for Gazans.
• ➡️ More than half of households in Gaza have had to exchange clothes and other goods for money. A third have resorted to picking up trash to sell.
• ➡️ The World Food Programme, which distributes food in Gaza says in order to prevent famine, people need to be able to have access to the nutrients found in fresh food, clean water and functioning hospitals.
• ➡️ Shortages of drinking water have also been reported and the amount of medical aid crossing into Gaza is also insufficient, according to the World Health Organization.
• ➡️ With experts warning that Gaza is at high risk of famine, here’s when and how famine declarations are made.

3 things to know before you go

1. Metallic monoliths have appeared in Utah, Europe and New Zealand since 2020. Another one appeared near Las Vegas earlier this month, though little is known about who started the monolith frenzy or why.
2. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has declared gun violence a public health crisis on Tuesday and recommended it be treated as such. Here’s what he suggested in a 40-page advisory that, while strongly worded, is unenforceable.
3. Questlove talks about the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef, the current state of hip hop, and the first new album in more than a decade from The Roots.

This newsletter was edited by Obed Manuel.