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President Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and named Senator Markwayne Mullin as his pick to take over, in the first cabinet shakeup of his second term. The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is widening again, with Israel striking Beirut’s southern suburbs as Lebanon says tens of thousands have been displaced. And two months after U.S. forces seized Venezuela’s president, Washington and Caracas are suddenly cutting deals on oil and critical minerals and moving to restore diplomatic r...
Iranians are fleeing as Israel and the U.S. keep striking Iran, the fighting continues in Lebanon, and the war’s spillover is rattling Gulf countries. President Trump is offering shifting explanations for why the U.S. struck Iran, as the White House tries to line up its message and Americans remain wary about what the war is meant to achieve. And China says it will send a special envoy to the Middle East as Beijing’s annual “Two Sessions” get underway, with leaders warning the world is getting m...
NPR's Up First details the fifth day of intensified Middle East conflict, with U.S. and Israeli strikes hitting Iran and Lebanon while Iran retaliates in the Gulf. President Trump provides varying explanations for the U.S. attack on Iran amidst public skepticism and concerns over oil prices. Additionally, the episode analyzes the outcomes of the initial midterm primaries in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas, offering insights into the political mood ahead.
The State Department urges Americans to leave the Middle East as Israel expands attacks on Iran and Lebanon, and the US reports casualties in Gulf strikes. Congress receives a briefing on the war, raising questions about presidential authority and the administration's shifting justifications. Meanwhile, voters in Texas and North Carolina cast ballots in critical Senate primaries offering early insights into both parties' strategies for the November midterm elections.
It is day three of the U.S. Israeli war with Iran as the fighting widens with Tehran launching retaliatory attacks across the Middle East, and Israel trading fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. President Trump says the strikes will continue “at full force” and warns Americans there will likely be more U.S. casualties, as the White House still hasn’t spelled out the war's objectives or how long it could last. And Iran’s retaliation is hitting America’s Gulf partners hard, with missiles and drones tur...
This episode delves into the explosion of prediction markets, where users can bet on diverse outcomes beyond sports, facilitated by apps like Kalshi and Polymarket. It explores their origins, the profiles of those winning and losing, and the ethical dilemmas of insider trading. The discussion highlights how deregulation and a pivotal court decision have fueled their growth, leading to ongoing legal battles with states questioning their status as non-gambling entities and the future challenges of controlling this pervasive trend.
The U.S. and Israel launch a joint attack on Iran. Iran responds with a missile attack on Israel, Bahrain, the U.A.E. and Qatar. Iran says a girls elementary school suffered a direct hit. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
The U.S. may be on the cusp of striking Iran, even as President Trump has not laid out clear objectives, asked Congress for authorization, or made a full public case for military action. Hillary Clinton sat for a six-hour, closed-door deposition in the House Oversight Committee’s Epstein investigation, and now Bill Clinton is set to testify as Republicans say they still have unanswered questions. And Warner Bros. Discovery abruptly walked away from a deal with Netflix for a sweeter bid from Para...
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt leads a state that gave President Trump 66% of the vote in 2024. He is also charting his own course and has publicly differed with the president. Stitt sat for an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep and talked about his vision for the Republican Party’s post-Trump future. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. This bonus episode of Up First was was produced by Adam Bearne. We get en...
U.S. and Iranian officials are meeting in Switzerland for another round of high-level talks. The talks will focus on Iran’s nuclear program, but the U.S. also wants ballistic missile restrictions. Harvard professor and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is resigning from his university positions over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Also, Cuban border agents shot and killed four alleged terrorists on a boat registered in the U.S. Want more analysis of the most import...
During his State of the Union, President Trump touted an "American revival" and economic boom, though fact-checks reveal discrepancies in his claims about inflation, GDP, and job growth. He proposed a new retirement plan and doubled down on tariffs, while facing congressional pushback. Separately, a bipartisan aviation safety bill failed to pass after the Pentagon unexpectedly withdrew support, citing budgetary and security risks, despite widespread backing from safety experts and crash victims' families.
Republican strategists say President Trump needs a reset in his State of the Union tonight, with new NPR polling showing 60% of Americans think the country is worse off than a year ago. Mexico is still reeling from cartel violence after a military operation killed the country's biggest drug lord, El Mencho, and triggered a wave of retaliation, raising questions about whether the government can take on the cartels without fueling even more violence. And an NPR investigation finds the Justice Depa...
President Trump says he’s raising global tariffs to 15% under a different authority after the Supreme Court blocked his emergency tariff power, forcing Congress to decide how closely they want to own the policy in a midterm election year. China is weighing what the court ruling actually changes on the ground for exporters and how it could reshape Trump’s leverage ahead of his trip to Beijing in a few weeks. And a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds most Americans say the state of the union is not...
Two of this year’s top contenders for the Academy Awards were filmed using a technology from the 1950s: VistaVision. Filmmakers are reviving this visually stunning yet finicky film format at a time when movie theaters are struggling to get audiences back into theaters. Today on The Sunday Story , NPR’s culture correspondent Mandalit Del Barco tells the story of the changing movie industry through the lens of VistaVision technology. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...
The Supreme Court says President Trump cannot use the economic emergency he declared as a rationale for his import tax regime. The U.S. military buildup in the Mideast over the past month gives Trump options for striking Iran. The U.S. and Canada will compete Sunday for the gold medal in men's Olympic ice hockey. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...
President Trump says he will make a decision in ten days on whether or not to attack Iran as the U.S. military buildup in the Middle East is now large enough to support a sustained bombing campaign. President Trump is widening the scope of his new Board of Peace after a Gaza-focused gathering, pitching it as a tool for other global conflicts as world leaders warn it could sideline the United Nations and the Gaza ceasefire remains fragile. And British police are searching royal properties after t...
Delve into the exciting U.S. Men's Hockey team's overtime win against Sweden and the intense US-Canada rivalries. The episode also highlights Jordan Stolz's speed skating prowess and Mikaela Shiffrin's poignant gold medal moment. Discover the surprising reasons behind breaking Olympic medals and explore the science identifying cross-country skiers as top athletes based on VO2 Max, and its implications for general fitness and longevity.
President Trump convenes the first meeting of his Board of Peace, touting $5 billion in reconstruction pledges for Gaza as Israel gives Hamas 60 days to disarm or face renewed war. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. And Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand in the first-ever social media addiction trial, defending accusations that the company knew kids under 13 were using Instagram and built its platforms to hook ...
U.S. and Iranian negotiators agree to keep talking after meetings in Geneva, even as President Trump threatens military force and Tehran warns it could retaliate. Stephen Colbert says CBS blocked a political guest from his late-night show, adding to a wave of upheaval involving Anderson Cooper and corporate maneuvering at the network’s parent company. And Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand in a landmark trial testing whether social media companies can be held legally responsible for harmin...
Up First reports on critical US-Iran talks in Geneva, where nuclear program limits are discussed against a backdrop of military buildup and economic pressure on Tehran. The episode also delves into the federal trial of nine individuals involved in a Texas ICE detention center shooting, highlighting the controversial 'Antifa terrorist' designation. Additionally, it explores China's rapid advancements in AI, its focus on widespread adoption, and the implications of US chip restrictions. Finally, the podcast pays tribute to the enduring legacy of civil rights icon Jesse Jackson upon his passing at 84.
If enjoyed this, check out the Up First Winter Games Video Podcast. You'll find it at youtube.com/npr. This bonus episode of Up First was edited by Eric Whitney. Our visual editors include Nicole Werbeck, Elizabeth Gillis, Grace Raver and Pablo Valdivia. It was produced by Lauren Migaki, Brianna Scott, Ana Perez, Barry Gordemer and Elizabeth Baker. We get engineering support from Jay Czys, Andie Huether, Becky Brown and Josephine Nyounai. Our Executive Producers are Adam Verdugo, Jay Shaylor and...
Congress is out on recess as a partial shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security is underway after talks collapsed over immigration enforcement reforms. Officials from the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine prepare for new peace talks in Geneva as Moscow presses territorial demands and Kyiv insists on security guarantees. And at the Winter Olympics in Italy, American speed skater Jordan Stolz is making history while other superstar athletes struggle with the intense pressure of competing on the wor...
How do you find the strength to face the unimaginable? In September of 2024, Gisèle Pelicot took the stand in an unprecedented mass rape trial in France. On trial was her former husband, along with 50 other men. Police had found images and videos of her husband and dozens of men raping Pelicot while she was drugged and unconscious. In this episode of The Sunday Story, Gisèle Pelicot sits down with NPR’s Michel Martin to talk about the pain of discovering what had happened to her, the harm it did...
We get the latest from the Munich Security Conference, where U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech before European leaders. We also look at the reasons behind why the FDA rejected Moderna's new flu vaccine and how that decision could shape future clinical trials. Plus, we'll look at the what happened with U.S Olympic figure skater Illia Malinin, dubbed the "Quad God," on the ice yesterday. Tipped to win the gold, Malinin didn't end up even medaling. See pcm.adswizz.com for infor...
Federal immigration agents are pulling back from Minnesota after months of aggressive immigration enforcement that led to thousands of arrests, weeks of protests, and the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens. Congress is racing to fund the Department of Homeland Security before a shutdown, with Democrats demanding changes to immigration enforcement and negotiations still stalled. And the Environmental Protection Agency is scrapping the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from cars...
Attorney General Pam Bondi clashed with lawmakers during a Capitol Hill hearing dominated by questions about the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. President Trump’s tariff agenda faces a rare Republican pushback in Congress, even as the White House argues the policy is bringing money into the United States. And a new jobs report shows stronger hiring to start the year, but revised data suggests the labor market was far weaker in 2025 than previously believed. Want more ...
The FBI released door camera footage from the home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84 year-old mother of Today Show host Savanah Guthrie who's been missing for eleven days. President Trump meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Israel’s security, as the White House signals possible progress in nuclear talks with Iran. And immigration officials defend enforcement tactics on Capitol Hill while lawmakers remain divided ahead of a Friday deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security. W...
Congress has until Friday to reach a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, with negotiations stalled over Democratic demands to overhaul immigration enforcement. Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer is fighting to hold onto power after new revelations show he hired a Washington ambassador with ties to Jeffrey Epstein, triggering calls for him to step down. And Savannah Guthrie issues another emotional plea for her missing mother as a ransom deadline passes and investigators say they...
The search for Nancy Guthrie enters its second week, with her family receiving a message from kidnappers and investigators lacking suspects. Ghislaine Maxwell is set for congressional questioning about Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, while she challenges her conviction. Additionally, the Seattle Seahawks secured their second championship, beating the New England Patriots in a defense-dominated Super Bowl LX.
NPR's Planet Money details how the Trump family significantly increased their wealth during the presidency, particularly in the second term, by leveraging Trump's status for deals in real estate, cryptocurrency, and branded merchandise. The investigation highlights innovative methods used to funnel money directly to the family, including lucrative foreign contracts and a vast crypto empire, a scale of personal profit deemed unprecedented for a U.S. president.
