Up First from NPR - Minnesota Shooting Arrest, Israel-Iran Conflict, G7 Kicks Off, Colorado Election Data

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

An arrest has been made in the shooting of two Democratic Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses, Israel and Iran are trading missile strikes with few signs of deescalation, President Trump has arrived at the G7 in Canada, and the Justice Department sent an unprecedented demand for election data to the state of Colorado.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Kevin Drew, Alex Leff, Roberta Rampton, Janaya Williams and Arezou Rezvani. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Claire Murashima and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

An arrest has been made in the killing of a Minnesota state lawmaker in the shooting of another. Police say a man was captured after the largest manhunt in that state's history. We'll hear about who else he may have been targeting. I'm Michelle Martindez Martinez and this is Up First from NPR News. Another night of strikes and damage as Israel and Iran both widened attacks. It was terrible. Boom. Big one. Everything is shaking. I'm afraid. I'm afraid. Is there any sign of de-escalation?

And President Trump has arrived in Canada for another tense reunion of G7 countries. Discussions about Trump's trade wars and the Middle East conflict will be front and center. And the Department of Justice is demanding an unprecedented amount of election data from Colorado. Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day. On the Planet Money podcast, the economic world we've been living in for decades was built on some basic assumptions.

But the people who built that world are long gone. And right now, those assumptions are kind of up in the air. Like the dollar as the reserve currency. Is that era over? If so, what could replace it? And what does that mean for the rest of us? Listen to the Planet Money Podcast from NPR, wherever you get your podcasts. A man suspected of killing a Democratic Minnesota legislative leader over the weekend is in custody. Last night, police arrested Vance Belter in a rural area outside Minneapolis. The 57 year old is charged with murder. Governor Tim Walz has called it a politically motivated attack.

Minnesota Public Radio's Matt Sepick joins us now from Minneapolis. Matt, let's start with the victims of this attack. Who were they? Investigators say that Vance Belter posed as a police officer and fatally shot former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark around 3.30 a.m. Saturday inside their home in Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis. Belter's also suspected of shooting and seriously wounding

Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their house about 90 minutes earlier. When Hoffman's daughter called 911 to report the shooting, police went to the Hortmans' home. According to the criminal complaint, officers saw Belter, who was dressed as a policeman, shoot Mark Hortman through an open door. Police then exchanged gunfire with Belter, who ran through the house and out the back. Belter left a vehicle in the Hortman's driveway

that was similar in appearance to a police SUV. Inside it, investigators allegedly found a list of names and addresses of other public officials. At a news conference late last night, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said that the initial 911 call and the officer's decision to check on Hortman stopped the gunman from killing other public officials. The Democratic governor pleaded for civility in public life. This cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences. Now is the time for us to recommit to the core values of this country. Matt, where was Belter caught?

Yesterday morning, residents of rural Sibley County, that's about 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis, got cell phone alerts telling them to lock their homes and vehicles. That was after police found a car belonging to Belter down the road from his home in that area. Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Brule says an officer thought that he may have seen Belter run into the woods,

so authorities hurried to set up a perimeter. During that, we got privy to additional information of an individual that was in the woods, and that search went on for many hours until ultimately we were able to locate him in the woods. Brule says officers called Belter out of the forest and into a field where he surrendered. The chief called the operation the largest manhunt in Minnesota history and said 20 SWAT teams were involved with it. Authorities say Belter was armed, but they did not specify what type of weapon he had. Does anyone know any motive for what happened?

Authorities didn't offer any new information about Belter's alleged motive, but several Democratic elected officials, including U.S. Senator Tina Smith and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, confirmed that they were among those on the list of people allegedly targeted by Belter. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans added last night that the list included names of people from other states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, and Iowa.

Now, one more thing, the couple who survived the attack, how are they doing? Yvette Hoffman was struck by eight bullets and her husband, State Senator John Hoffman, was hit nine times. Governor Walz said last night that John Hoffman came out of his final surgery and is moving toward recovery. Yvette Hoffman exchanged text messages with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar yesterday, writing, quote, we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. All right. That's reporter Matt Sepick of Minnesota Public Radio. Matt, thank you.

You're welcome. World leaders and the United Nations are calling for a de-escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran. There were explosions and there was destruction in both countries for a fourth day as the two exchanged fire. And the death toll grows. Iran's Ministry of Health says more than 200 people have been killed, including many women and children, and more than 1,000 injured.

An Israel official said more than 20 people have been killed, including many women and children, and more than a thousand injured. An Israel official said more than 20 people have been killed. For more, we're joined by NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. President Trump posted online that Israel and Iran should, quote, make a deal and that there have been calls and meetings taking place. Hadil, any sign of de-escalation right now? I mean, yes, President Trump did say that the two sides needed to, quote, end this bloody conflict. And then he told reporters yesterday, though, that, quote, sometimes they have to fight it out. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an interview

to Fox News last night, and he doubled down on continuing the war. Let's take a listen. The issue here is not de-escalation. The issue here is not ceasefire. The issue here is stopping those things that will threaten our survival. And we committed to stopping them and I think we can achieve them. S1 05.01 Iran also has not signaled, publicly at least, that talks were imminent and it remains adamant to respond to the Israeli strike. So no, it doesn't seem like things are calming down anytime soon. S1 05.01 Yeah, a sign of that escalation was an under night of strikes and damage in both Iran and Israel. What was it like where you are? Yeah, it was a very deadly night of strikes here in Israel. The Israeli military says four areas were hit, including

the northern city of Haifa and also an area in central Tel Aviv. Yesterday, I visited one of those neighborhoods worst hit, it's called Bat Yam in central Israel. You know, a massive high rise was completely gutted from one side. Search and rescue teams were looking for missing people in the rubble. There were blown out windows for miles. I met 62 year old Ilana Kopchak. She was in a bomb shelter when the missile hit nearby.

It was terrible. Boom, big one. Everything is shaking. I'm afraid. Wow, this level of destruction and attacks seem unprecedented for many in Israel. What's the mood where you're at? Absolutely. So, you know, Israelis can sometimes be nonchalant about missile fire. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis fire rockets at Israel.

But this isn't the same at all. And the Israeli air defense system known as the Iron Dome hasn't been able to intercept all of them as we can see, which is leading to a level of destruction in central Israel, particularly, that hasn't been seen before really. You know, there's been some criticism in the media about the war.

There's questions, what is Netanyahu's end game? But generally, there's actually a sense that this is a time for Israel to unite against their common enemy, the Iranian Islamic regime. The area I visited, Bat Yam, is a Netanyahu stronghold. He visited the neighborhood and many people were chanting his name in support. And people I talked to, yeah, they were rattled by the attack. Some homes, their homes were also damaged. But they said this war was inevitable. It's been hanging over their heads for decades and that this

destruction was perhaps the price to pay for Israel's safety in the region. All right, that's MPR's Hadil al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Thank you very much. You're very welcome. President Trump has arrived in Kananaskis at a lodge in the Canadian Rockies for this year's G7. It is the annual summit for the leaders of advanced economies, and this year's comes at a tense time. The conflict between Israel and Iran has escalated, as we've just heard. The Ukraine-Russia war continues, and Trump has imposed tariffs on all of his fellow G7 countries. MPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzlaven traveled to Canada last night

with the president she joins us now from Calgary, Alberta. So Danielle what's on the agenda for the next couple of days? Well Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney he's the host of this meeting he's laid out a few really broad areas. Among them, he's listed boosting the response to wildfires, building infrastructure, and using AI for economic growth. Now, Trump, for his part, has his own priorities. His White House has said that he wants to talk about migration, critical minerals, trade, and drug smuggling, among other things.

But given the timing of this meeting, the Iran-Israel conflict, like you just mentioned, that's sure to be a big part of the conversation and also Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. On that note, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is going to be at the summit. And the White House says Trump will have some time to meet with Zelensky in the next couple of days. Not only that, but they confirmed he will have one-on-one meetings with Mexico's President Claudia Schoenbaum and Mark Carney, the host. So I remember back in his first term, President Trump had some pretty memorable clashes

with his fellow leaders at these seven summits. Yeah. So what's what was behind all that? Well, some of it was personal. I mean, for example, look back to 2018 when Trump called then-Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, dishonest and weak. And that was inspired by trade issues is what caused that argument. Trump also argued in the past with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But stepping back from those personality clashes, there have just been differing values between Trump and other G7 leaders. Trump's team wanted narrowly focused G7 agendas, focusing heavily on economics.

Meanwhile, the other leaders wanted to talk about more expansive topics like climate change and gender equality in addition to economics. Now at the end of these summits, they usually wrap all of that together in a big joint statement called a communique, but this year, they're scrapping that approach. So I talked to Kellyanne Shaw, she was Trump's lead negotiator in 2019. She said this. In many respects, it's an improvement, right? Because last year, if you look at the communique, it's 36 pages of empty promises and platitudes.

It doesn't move the needle. Now again, she's making the Trumpist argument there, but other G7 leaders have seen the summit as a venue for global governance and just for consensus on big problems. So do you expect any friction between Trump and other leaders this week? I mean, there could be on a few topics. One is Trump's repeated statements about making Canada,

again, the host country, the 51st state. So that's- Oh, that, that I forgot about that. Yeah, that's big. Not only that, but French President Emmanuel Macron sent a message during a stop he made on the way to this G7. He stopped at Greenland, and that's another place that Trump has said he would like to annex.

And that, of course course is part of Denmark. One more area that they may talk about is Russia, or they will likely talk about. Fundamentally, the G7 has not been friendly to Russia because of its actions in Ukraine. But Trump is friendly with Russian president Vladimir Putin. They spoke over the weekend and Trump has even said he would be open to Putin mediating the Israel-Iran conflict. Now Macron, for his part, said he would not support that. Capping all that off is trade. Trump has tariffed goods from nearly every country, including all his G7 partners, and

he has said he will be talking tariff deals this week. All right. That's NPR's Danielle Kertzleibit. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Last month, President Trump's Department of Justice made a sweeping demand of the state of Colorado. Give us all your records from recent federal elections. Voting officials say they've never seen anything like it.

NPR's Miles Parks and Jude Jaffe Block were the first to obtain this data request. So Jude, let's start off with you. Tell us more about what's happening here. Well, yeah, last month the Justice Department sent the Colorado Secretary of State a letter citing a number of federal laws, including those that say election officials need to keep relevant records for 22 months after an election. DOJ said they received a complaint about Colorado's compliance with election law, and they're requesting all records from the past 22 months as a result. But this request goes even further back to preserve any 2020 election records Colorado

has even though there isn't a legal obligation for state officials to have saved those old records at this point. All right. So requests for both 2020 and 2024. Miles, how rare is this? I mean, no voting official we've spoken with has ever heard of a request for all election records from an entire state. I mean, depending on how you read this, election law experts told us it could encompass ballots, voter registration materials to equipment. Justin Levitt is a professor at Loyola Law School. He worked for DOJ during the Obama administration,

and he was a voting advisor in the Biden administration. I've never seen a request that says, you have a responsibility to keep everything. We're investigating whether you kept everything, so send us everything. Has the Department of Justice said anything about this request so far publicly or maybe in response to your reporting? It hasn't. We got no comment on the substance of the request and the DOJ also has not provided a copy of the initial complaint. What about the letter? Any explanation as to why they want all these records? Not exactly. I mean, we don't know anything about that initial complaint, who's Senate, what the specifics are. But election officials in Colorado, note the last time that a state

records retention issue was in the spotlight, involved a Trump ally who's become a sort of election denial folk hero. You might remember her name, Tina Peters. She's a former county voting official who was convicted on a bunch of crimes related to giving unauthorized access to her systems after the 2020 election. As part of her defense in her trial, she accused the Secretary of State of illegally ordering records to be deleted. That accusation was never substantiated, but election officials in Colorado see this request from DOJ as in some way linked to that case.

All right, so just to be clear then, anything in the DOJ's letter that mentions Peters, or is that maybe just a hunch among people in Colorado? There's nothing in the letter, but it's also worth noting that just a week before Colorado got this letter President Trump posted a long social media post where he called Peters a political prisoner and he even directed DOJ to take quote all Necessary action to help get her free even though she's in state custody And when we spoke with Colorado Secretary Secretary of State, Democrat Jenna Griswold, she noted the timing that this request came soon after Trump's post.

Though she's not sure why DOJ ultimately wants all her records, she is worried they'll be used to make false accusations about the state's voting systems. We are seeing them use the apparatus of the federal government to undermine our elections and our democracy, and I would assume that this is more of the same. In response to the request, the state provided DOJ with a couple different snapshots of its publicly available voter rolls and a more detailed voter history. But it's unclear whether DOJ will be satisfied with that considering how broad the request was.

Jude, I mean, what does this data request then say about the focus of Trump's Department of Justice? Yeah, the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, which includes the voting section, is really undergoing a dramatic transformation right now to home in on Trump's priorities. We've seen DOJ lawyers drop voting rights lawsuits brought under Biden and instead focus on searching for fraud or how states are verifying voters on their roles. One of our colleagues reported that the Civil Rights Division has lost about 70% of its

attorneys. The key person to note here is the head of the Civil Rights Division, Hermit Dillon. She's the one who signed this request to Colorado. And Dillon frankly has a history of working in the election denial space. She advised Trump's legal team in 2020 and also worked for Carrie Lake's campaign in Arizona in 2022, both campaigns that involved casting doubt on election results. And then up until the time she was confirmed, Dylan was working at her own private firm, which was also commissioned by the Republican National Committee this spring

to send out election records requests across the country. A secretary of state not in Colorado, but who got one of those requests told me she was getting flashbacks to the post 2020 period when voting officials really felt targeted more than ever before. That's MPR's Miles Parks and Jude Joppie Block. Thanks you two. Thank you. Thanks. And that's up first for Monday, June 16th. I'm Amartinez. And I'm Michelle Martin. For your next Listen, Checkout, Consider This from NPR. We here at Up First give you the three big stories of the day, our Consider This colleagues dive

into a single news story and what it means to you in less than 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Kevin Drew, Alex Left, Roberto Rampton, Jenae Williams and Arzu Razvani. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Claire Burashima and Christopher Thomas. We have engineering support from Nisha Hines and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.