Join Shumita Basu every weekday morning as she guides you through some of the most fascinating stories in the news — and how the world’s best journalists are covering them.
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NPR’s Alejandra Borunda joins to talk about scientific advances in hurricane forecasting since Katrina, and how that progress might now be at risk. It was a busy week in Washington that included a slew of new executive orders from President Trump and a heated battle over the firing of a Federal Reserve governor. New Yorker writer Susan B. Glasser discusses the latest, and how Trump is acting on his own perception of executive power in new ways. The ICE detention center in Florida known as “Allig...
The White House says it has fired the CDC director, less than a month after she was confirmed. Now other key officials are resigning. The Washington Post breaks down what happened. The Minnesota Star Tribune has the latest on the shooting in Minneapolis that left two children dead. Jack Dolan, an investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times , tells us how a blaze that has been burning in the Grand Canyon complicates the rationale behind letting so-called “good fires” burn. Plus, the division...
The little-known de minimis tariff exemption is ending. Bloomberg unpacks the effect it could have on shopping habits. The Trump administration is using obscure tactics around mortgages to pursue political outcomes. Rachel Siegel at the Washington Post has the details. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged. USA Today looks at their relationship timeline. Plus, a whistleblower claims DOGE put millions of Americans’ personal data at risk , a new study suggests AI is taking more jobs from young...
Laura Meckler, national education reporter with the Washington Post , joins to break down how the Department of Education has dramatically reshaped civil rights in schools under Trump. In Gaza, an airstrike killed 22 people, including five journalists, on Monday. NPR has the story. The Guardian also reports that data shows five out of six Palestinians killed by the Israeli military in Gaza have been civilians. A massive swing in immigration is affecting the U.S. labor market. Paul Kiernan from t...
The Washington Post ’s Jenny Gathright joins to discuss the latest on Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington, D.C., and what could come next. ProPublica ’s Annie Waldman details how cuts at federal health agencies went much further than initially promised. Texas’s abortion ban is jeopardizing care and spreading fear across the state for providers and patients. The Dallas Morning News investigates the impacts. Plus, a man-made famine is officially declared in Gaza City, the man wrongly deported to...
The federal government might give up its ability to regulate climate law — and businesses are concerned. NPR ’s Michael Copley explains why. Israel is launching two controversial plans in what it calls the “next phase” of its war in Gaza. CNN ’s Oren Liebermann details the country’s latest moves. Sudan’s civil war is reaching a breaking point. The Atlantic ’s Anne Applebaum joins Apple News In Conversation to discuss the conditions she’s seen on the ground — and why American aid is fading away. ...
Nobody is buying homes. Nobody is changing jobs. Wall Street Journal reporter Konrad Putzier explores why so many Americans are feeling stuck — and the economic consequences for everyone. Los Angeles–area students returned to school amid ongoing ICE raids. Los Angeles Times reporter Howard Blume tells us how schools are trying to keep them safe. Bloomberg ’s Jessica Nix explains what to know about vaccine recommendations and availability this fall. Plus, why the DOJ issued subpoenas for the pers...
New Yorker staff writer David D. Kirkpatrick spent months tallying up the dizzying amount of cash Trump has made off the presidency. He joins to talk about it. Rachel Siegel, housing reporter at the Washington Post , describes how Dallas has become a national model for how to move the needle on homelessness. California passed a law in 2020 to boost wildfire protections for homes, but its implementation was delayed. Bloomberg reporter Todd Woody examines why — and how the delay affected victims o...
Stalking has become an unsettling part of the elite-sports landscape. The Athletic ’s Carson Kessler investigates why cases are climbing. Washington Post reporter Michael Birnbaum unpacks the key takeaways from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s high-stakes meeting at the White House yesterday. Politico reporter Melanie Mason explains California’s plan to redraw election maps in response to Texas. Plus, members of Congress will soon get their hands on some of the Epstein files, why a vaccine adviso...
Politico ’s Paul McLeary joins to talk about what’s next as President Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C., today. Trump failed to secure a peace agreement after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. High-profile European leaders are also traveling to Washington in support of Zelenskyy. Several Republican states over the weekend said they will deploy additional National Guard troops to D.C. to join Trump’s crackdown on crime and hom...
Reuters White House correspondent Steve Holland discusses the high-stakes meeting between President Trump and Russian President Putin in Alaska — and what it could mean for President Zelenskyy’s Ukraine. Dan Frosch with the Wall Street Journal breaks down why so many American children live in, or precariously close to, poverty. The largest tech companies in the U.S. are ramping up AI spending. The Washington Post ’s Gerrit De Vynck details the staggering amount of cash being spent. Plus, the bat...
Three out of 10 people have trouble falling and staying asleep. Jennifer Senior, staff writer for The Atlantic , explains why many commonly recommended solutions can only go so far. The Wall Street Journal ’s Matt Grossman lays out why some economists are concerned about Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rachel Uranga with the Los Angeles Times discusses the administration’s aggressive immigration raids in L.A., and how they may have violated the Fourth Amendment. Plus, Tru...
The National Guard was deployed into Washington, D.C. Vera Bergengruen from the Wall Street Journal explains the unprecedented ways the Trump administration is using the military on domestic soil. The U.S. loosened its restrictions for what chips Nvidia can sell to China, in exchange for a percentage of the revenue. Lisa Eadicicco from CNN tells us why it’s such an unusual deal. Israel has faced international condemnation after it killed several journalists in Gaza. The BBC profiles them. Plus, ...
Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C. Brian Mann from NPR explains how the president is using emergency powers to take control of the city’s police force. Elizabeth Findell from the Wall Street Journal reports on the growing number of ICE detainees being flown from state to state so often that lawyers are losing them in the system. Mothers are leaving the workforce in greater numbers. Abha Bhattarai from the Washington Post has been looking into why. Plus, Trump picked a conserva...
Caitlin Dickerson with the Atlantic reports on how Congress has allocated an unprecedented sum of money to immigration enforcement, and how they might spend it. President Putin is set to visit the U.S. for the first time in a decade to discuss Ukraine with President Trump. But critics are worried the country will be carved up without its leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy present. Nurses are being driven from their profession by violence in the emergency room, as Kyra Breslin reports for Women’s Health ...
Benjamin Netanyahu wants to take control of all of Gaza. Alexander Cornwell with Reuters unpacks what that means. The Trump administration is pulling support for harm-reduction policies for addiction. David Ovalle with the Washington Post describes why. Florida has taken the lead in advancing Trump’s immigration agenda. Jasmine Garsd spoke to In Conversation about what that looks like on the ground. Plus, universities ordered to hand over admissions data on race, why the U.S. is souring on orang...
Tariffs for nearly 70 countries are implemented today. CNN ’s Elisabeth Buchwald explains where all the money is going. Republicans are under pressure to sell the tax-and-spending bill during summer recess. But crowds at town halls aren’t making it easy, as Semafor ’s Eleanor Mueller tells us. U.S. citizens are getting caught up in the immigration crackdown. Sam Levin from The Guardian has been following some disturbing cases. Plus, the latest following a shooting at Georgia’s Fort Stewart, new ...
More universities are beginning to engage with the Trump administration on settlements and other agreements. Liam Knox of Bloomberg News joins to discuss how the White House’s pressure campaign is building. The data centers used to power AI are using up a lot of electricity. Peter Whoriskey at the Washington Post explains what that means for your bills. Journalists in California have unveiled a massive database documenting police use of force and misconduct, using previously unreleased documents...
The Texas governor is in a political showdown with Democrats. Lawmakers have fled the state to derail a redistricting vote that would could hand the GOP more seats for the midterms. McKenzie Funk from ProPublica talks about how ICE agents have turned to smashing through car windows to make arrests. The small African nation of Lesotho was hit with a significant tariff threat earlier this year. The Wall Street Journal ’s Alexandra Wexler reports on the economic impact on the country. Plus, Israeli...
Trump fired a key official after she delivered some bad news about jobs numbers. Courtenay Brown with Axios explains what that means for the credibility of government statistics, and unpacks what we learned about the U.S. economy from last week’s flurry of news. As Trump pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine, many thousands of children taken from the country to Russia are still missing. Simon Shuster, a senior correspondent at Time , joins to discuss his reporting. It’s been one month since se...
Trump unveiled a new set of tariffs across the globe as his deadline arrived. Manuela Andreoni from Reuters explains why he hopes higher duties on Brazil and sanctions against a judge will derail the country’s trial against former President Jair Bolsonaro. One of Trump’s former personal lawyers was narrowly confirmed by Senate Republicans to a lifetime position as a federal appeals judge. Washington Post reporter Perry Stein explains why Emil Bove’s confirmation was so controversial. A drug you’...
As President Trump touts trade deals ahead his Friday tariff deadline, Politico ’s Daniel Desrochers reports that a lot of the details remain murky. Washington Post reporter Liz Goodwin explains how an unlikely alliance formed to fix America’s housing crisis Israel’s blockade on aid to Gaza has created famine conditions, according to a new report . NPR spoke with doctors about the long-term health implications of starvation. Plus, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady amid historic diss...
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off Russia’s east coast, setting off tsunami warnings in the U.S., Japan, and elsewhere. Reuters has the latest. For years, the EPA has regulated greenhouse-gas emissions. Bloomberg News ’s Ari Natter explains why the agency is now trying to change that — and what the consequences could be. Hearings on January’s deadly airline collision near D.C. are getting underway, the Washington Post reports. One of the issues is staffing: The FAA needs m...
According to a ProPublica report, the IRS is building a system that would share taxpayer data with ICE. Investigative reporter William Turton explains his findings. This week we’ll get a slew of new economic data that could indicate some of the impact of Trump’s tariff strategy. Bloomberg News ’s Shawn Donnan joins to discuss what to watch and how the global economy has already changed. The Washington Post uncovered allegations of forced labor in the Brazilian Amazon some decades ago. Rio de Jan...
Photos of emaciated, starving Palestinians have drawn international condemnation of Israel’s blockade of aid to Gaza. NBC reports. Over the weekend, Israel said it would begin allowing more supplies into the enclave. The Washington Post has the details. Cory Turner with NPR explains what SAVE -plan borrowers need to know about their other repayment options as interest starts accruing on their loans this week. Venezuelans deported by the Trump administration say they were tortured during their fo...
The Guardian looks at how Trump’s goal to deport 1 million people in his first year in office stands, six months into his term. The paper’s Will Craft has the details. There has been n a spike in executions in the U.S. After being a witness to some and getting to know death-row inmates, The Atlantic ’s Elizabeth Bruenig speaks to In Conversation , and argues that the death penalty should be abolished. Matthew Dalton with the Wall Street Journal describes how extreme heat is causing European atti...
Trump was briefed in May that his name was among many cited in the files relating to the Jeffrey Epstein case, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal . Meanwhile, a House committee subpoenaed Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell. NBC News has the latest. Texas Republicans want to redraw the electoral maps in ways that could deliver more wins at next year’s midterms. Eleanor Klibanoff from the Texas Tribune explains. A Los Angeles hospital becomes the latest hospital to withdraw certa...
President Trump has filed an unprecedented libel lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, claiming $20 billion in damages over a report about Jeffrey Epstein, raising questions about free speech and media retaliation. The episode also details the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israeli troops push into new areas, with severe malnutrition and aid blockages affecting civilians. Additionally, new information emerges from the Air India crash investigation, suggesting critical fuel switches were mishandled. Other segments cover political pushback and a scientific mystery concerning Earth's shrinking days.
Six months in, how have the Trump administration’s actions aligned with Project 2025’s plan? The Atlantic ’s David Graham joins the show to assess. Lawyers representing Harvard University and the Trump administration were in court yesterday over the White House’s stripping of billions of dollars in grants. MassLive reports. Over a month ago, members of the National Guard were deployed to Los Angeles amid protests. Jenny Jarvie, national reporter for the L.A. Times , says many are now bored. Plus...
Six months into Trump’s second term in office, a CNN poll finds that a majority of Americans disapprove of the administration’s deportation program. Philip Bump with the Washington Post examines the history of Trump’s support among his base. The recently passed GOP tax-and-spending bill makes steep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP spending. Sarah Wire of USA Today reports on how states are concerned about making up the shortfall. The same bill created a new type of investment account for kids. The Wall...
