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Kilmar Abrego Garcia: a name that's become near-synonymous with the Trump Administration's immigration crackdown. Abrego Garcia was arrested by ICE agents on March 12th, as he was leaving his job in Baltimore. In the days and months that followed, the fate of the 29-year-old father of three was in the hands of the Trump administration and El Salvador's President. At the time of his arrest the administration alleged he was an active member of the Salvadoran gang MS-13. His family and his legal te...
The White House's message on what's happening in Los Angeles is simple: this is what President Trump was elected to do. It is true that polls have found people trust the Republican Party more to handle immigration. A CBS poll taken last week found that 54% approve of Trump's deportation policies. Trump is making a big bet on how far Americans want him to go. He mobilized National Guard and active-duty troops that the mayor and governor say they don't need. The administration says its immigration...
Fentanyl and other street drugs killed more than 230,000 people under the age of 35 in the U.S. over the last decade. But now new federal data shows drug deaths among young people are plummeting at an unprecedented rate – saving thousands of lives each year. What's driving the drop, and with federal funding cuts on the horizon, will it continue? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at considerthis@npr.org . See p...
The last time a President deployed the National Guard over a governor's objections was more than 50 years ago. Over the weekend, President Trump did just that — in California. He ordered 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles, where people are protesting federal immigration raids. Today, governor Gavin Newsom said California is suing the Trump administration for what the governor called an unlawful action. Trump called the protesters "insurrectionists"; Vice President JD Vance suggested the...
Citing a rarely used law, President Trump bypassed California's governor Gavin Newsom, and ordered two thousand national guard troops to Los Angeles for sixty days. It's the first time in 60 years a president has used federal power to deploy national guard troops without the agreement of the state's governor. NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and hears how people in the city are reacting. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple ...
In March, NPR Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson reported on problems with the way federal courts police sexual harassment and bullying . A culture of secrecy made reporting the story particularly difficult. With few protections, many who alleged mistreatment were afraid to speak out. For our weekly Reporter's Notebook series, Johnson takes us inside her investigation – and speaks with Consider This host Scott Detrow about the challenge of using anonymous sources to bring accountability to the...
House Republicans' reconciliation bill, which includes a first-of-its-kind national private school voucher program, is now in the hands of the Senate. The proposal would use the federal tax code to offer vouchers that students could use to attend private secular or religious schools, even in states where voters have opposed such efforts. Debates about voucher programs have raged on throughout the years. But what does the research say? NPR education correspondent Cory Turner unpacks it. For spons...
President Trump has signed a new travel ban. Travelers from 12 countries will be barred from entering the US, and people from an additional seven countries will face partial travel restrictions. The proclamation goes into effect June 9 — and fulfills something Trump has long-promised: to bring back the travel ban from his first term. But that ban was the subject of many legal challenges. Some legal scholars say President Trump has learned a lot since then. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider T...
Whether it was her history making win in 2017. Or the history she made as only the second woman elected to lead a country to give birth while IN office. Or her decision to step away from power after leading New Zealand through crisis after crisis. Jacinda Ardern could never be described as a TYPICAL politician. But perhaps the most norm-busting feature of her time as Prime Minister was her rejection of the old ways of leadership. Now as she reflects on her time as Prime Minister of New Zealand A...
Tuesday morning brought another shooting near a food distribution site in Gaza — the third in as many days. This time, more than two dozen people were killed as they tried to collect emergency food aid, according to Gaza health officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Israeli military acknowledged firing warning shots at "several suspects" moving toward their position, and fired additional shots at individual suspects who, they said, did not retreat. The violence may have ...
In the past, most military parades in the U.S. were staged to signal the end of a war and welcome home of those who fought. The last major military parade in the nation's capitol was in 1991. It marked the end of the Gulf War. The capital has not seen a military parade like the one planned by President Trump for June 14th in decades - a parade estimated to cost $45 million. NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with historian Joshua Zeitz. He's a contributing editor for Politico Magazine and has written abou...
President Trump wants to make a deal with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Putin says Russia wants to engage in peace talks, but Putin has also been ordering the most widespread and violent aerial attacks on Ukraine in years. This has led Trump to criticize Putin more and more in public — a step that's been rare over the course of Trump's two terms in office. Three years into his war on Ukraine, what does Putin really want? It's a question leaders around the world are trying to figure o...
The Trump administration has thrown so many curveballs at colleges and universities, it can be hard to keep track. But there's logic behind the many efforts, from cutting research grants to detaining international students involved in activism. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben and education correspondent Elissa Nadworny about what's at stake in the federal government's multi-pronged assault on higher education and what the administration hopes to accompl...
When Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced new COVID recommendations this week, it raised questions among clinicians and patients: Will those shots still be available to people who want them — and will insurance cover it? NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, about the CDC's new guidelines for healthy children and pregnant women — and whether they could make it more difficult for t...
When ISIS was at its height, its ranks included several hundred Americans. They were often young men radicalized online by savvy marketing that promised free housing and the chance to meet a wife. When the Islamic State collapsed, some of them ended up in huge detention camps in Syria, and the U.S. has been trying to bring them home. NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer reports on one American family coping with the aftermath of the child they lost, and the children they found. What happened to the families of ...
NPR and three public radio stations in Colorado sued President Trump on Tuesday over his executive order that seeks to end federal funding for NPR and PBS. NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik breaks down the suit, and NPR CEO Katherine Maher answers Mary Louise Kelly's answers about the lawsuit, potential fall out, and future of NPR and public media. And a reminder about how NPR covers news about NPR: All Things Considered host Kelly and media correspondent Folkenflik, as well as the edit...
It's a classic Washington power move — the late-on-Friday news dump. This past Friday, at 4:30pm, start of a long holiday weekend, about half the staff of the National Security Council got emails asking them to leave by 5pm. Dozens of people abruptly dismissed. The restructuring of the NSC as Secretary of State and National Security advisor Marco Rubio has characterized it — continues a trend in this second term for President Trump, of radical downsizing. The Trump administration plans to cut th...
Misinformation originating from fringe internet communities and right-wing media ecosystems is increasingly reaching the highest levels of government. This episode examines how false narratives, such as the debunked claim of a white genocide in South Africa, are amplified by figures like Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk, influencing presidential statements, refugee policy, and executive orders. The discussion highlights the media landscape that supports these claims and the resulting breakdown of societal trust when fringe ideas impact policy.
NPR's Nina Totenberg, a Supreme Court reporter for 50 years, shares insights into the Court's current relationship with President Trump, characterized by tension over executive authority cases. She recounts her extensive career, including breaking major stories and covering landmark decisions like Roe v. Wade and Bush v. Gore. Totenberg also details the unique challenges and methods of reporting on the Supreme Court, often described as secretive compared to other branches of government.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stumbled on a basic civics question: what is habeas corpus? This constitutional protection, which prevents illegal detention, is under discussion because the Trump administration considered suspending it to aid mass deportations. A legal expert explains the history, significance, and strict constitutional requirements for suspending habeas corpus, emphasizing that the president cannot do so unilaterally and discussing how the current Supreme Court might view such an attempt.
This episode discusses the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington D.C. and places it within the context of a documented rise in antisemitic incidents in the United States. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, shares his reaction and insights on confronting this hate and distinguishes between legitimate protest and violence tied to antisemitism.
Following recent system outages causing significant delays and cancellations, an air traffic controller discusses the harrowing conditions working Newark airspace. They attribute the problems partly to systemic issues like aging technology and staffing shortages, but also directly blame the FAA's controversial decision to move operations from New York to Philadelphia without adequate planning. The episode explores the human impact on controllers and the current state of flying into or out of Newark.
The U.S. economy is in flux, presenting challenges like resuming student loan payments, inflation, high housing costs, and a tough job market. This episode offers practical advice from a personal finance expert on budgeting, exploring flexible student loan repayment plans, managing credit card debt and considering consolidation, navigating career uncertainty, and the importance of seeking support for the emotional toll of financial hardship.
This episode explores the claims made in the new book "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again" by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. The authors discuss their reporting on Biden's alleged physical and cognitive decline, specific examples from the book, and the actions his inner circle reportedly took to conceal it from the public and other aides. They also touch on the justifications given for his re-election bid and reflections from sources.
President Trump's recent trip to the Middle East broke tradition with major business deals in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. The visit culminated in a surprise announcement to lift sanctions on Syria and a meeting with interim Syrian President al-Sharaa. They discussed Syria potentially recognizing Israel, raising questions about a critical turning point for peace in the region and the likelihood of these promises being fulfilled.
NPR's John Ruwitch shares insights on covering the US-China trade war from China, detailing its immediate impact on businesses like those at the Canton Fair. He also discusses the vibrant Shanghai Auto Show, showcasing China's EV dominance, and the complexities foreign correspondents face. Ruwitch reflects on China's vast changes over decades and the current uncertainty about future economic confidence.
Six months after President Trump introduced the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), this episode explores its dramatic impact on federal workers and public services nationwide. Reporters share anecdotes from agencies like USDA, Forest Service, and nuclear security, detailing job cuts, forced resignations, and a lack of transparency regarding claimed savings. The discussion highlights how these changes affect essential services Americans rely on, like food inspection and wildfire response, and touches upon the legal challenges currently pausing the restructuring.
This episode explores the Supreme Court case challenging former President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, which has been blocked by nationwide injunctions. While the core constitutional question was raised, expert Amanda Frost details how the oral arguments heavily focused on the controversial power of judges to issue nationwide injunctions against federal policies and the potential chaos if such injunctions were eliminated or limited.
Nearly half a million people in Gaza now face starvation, according to a new report from the IPC, the international panel of famine experts who advise the United Nations. For more than ten weeks, Israel has halted the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages. Israel accuses Hamas of seizing aid, selling it on the black market and using aid distribution to reinforce its control of Gaza. The UN says hundreds of truckloads of lifesaving supplies are waiting ...
As Russia's neighbor, Poland is rapidly increasing its defense spending, now the highest among NATO members, and preparing its population for potential conflict. The country is undertaking significant efforts like training all adult males for war and fortifying its border with Russia, while simultaneously exploring security agreements with other European partners like France amidst uncertainty regarding US commitment.
