Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
Today's top stories
At a news conference in Moscow hours after polls closed, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked his country for its support following a three-day election. He also commented on the death of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny for the first time. Partial results show Putin easily winning a fifth term. Western countries are saying the vote was neither free nor fair.
Former President Donald Trump is making headlines again for comments he made about Jan. 6 rioters, immigrants, asylum seekers and the U.S. auto industry at a campaign rally in Ohio this weekend. Trump warned that "it's going to be a bloodbath for the country" if he's not elected — referring to the auto industry and his plans to increase tariffs on foreign-made cars.
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments today on a case focused on the federal government's ability to combat what it sees as false, misleading, or dangerous information online. The case will be a test of First Amendment rights in the internet age. An appeals court ruled last September that key government officials, including those in the White House, CDC and FBI, could not communicate with social media companies. The court said these officials likely violated First Amendment rights by pressuring the companies to moderate or change content about the COVID pandemic, election interference and more. The court is also expected to hear a case about government influence and First Amendment rights related to the National Rifle Association after it finishes arguments on the social media case.
Deep dive
![Connie Hanzhang Jin](https://assets.vpm.org/dims4/default/e7a8cbc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/600x420+0+0/resize/880x616!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F18%2Frafah-promo-me_custom-58d919942a3ca93764a829c763b8efef88c8ccf0.jpg)
When Israel launched its military response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks, it told Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate and head south. When the Israeli military operation moved to central Gaza, Palestinians were again ordered to move south. Now, five months into the war, Gaza's southernmost town of Rafah is seeing a mass displacement of an estimated 1.5 million people sheltering there – more than half of Gaza's population.
Picture show
![Keith Haring's carousel at Luna Luna in Los Angeles.](https://assets.vpm.org/dims4/default/fa14aee/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F18%2Flunaluna-2023-11-29_017v3_wide-89cc01cc3d7f92cac3dc89c844d1cfe6e23c180a.jpg)
Canadian rapper Drake has helped recreate an iconic 1980s art carnival from Hamburg, Germany, in Los Angeles. The original Luna Luna festival, which was the brainchild of Austrian multimedia artist Andre Heller, featured work from the top contemporary artists of the 20th century, including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Roy Lichtenstein
See photos from the revived Luna Luna festival and learn more about this amusement park of art.
3 things to know before you go
![The FBI Boston Division recovered 22 artifacts stolen from Japan, including the artwork above. During World War II, various treasures from the Ryukyu Kingdom were stolen.](https://assets.vpm.org/dims4/default/449fb83/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5498x3092+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2024%2F03%2F18%2Fboston-okinawa-repatriation-scroll_wide-c2fcea33eeb9abec86dbd5db4ea67877c5d6b8e3.jpg)
This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi. Mansee Khurana contributed.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.