Devastating wildfires in the LA area have leveled entire neighborhoods as firefighting resources are stretched thin, a state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter will be held at Washington's National Cathedral, and President-elect Trump met with Senate Republicans to help chart a course for his top legislative priorities. 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...
Jan 09, 2025•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, is ending a fact-checking feature, the annual winter respiratory virus season is in full force, and the Palisades Fire in Southern California is rapidly spreading. For 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 Kara Platoni, Scott Hensley, Denice Rios, Janaya Williams and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia D...
Jan 08, 2025•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he is resigning, only 15 detainees remain at the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay and the Minneapolis Police Department is now under federal oversight, nearly five years after the murder of George Floyd. For 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 Nick Spicer, Barrie Hardymon, Cheryl Corley, Janaya Williams and A...
Jan 07, 2025•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast After protecting the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, retired Capitol Police officer Aquilino Gonell says Donald Trump's re-election feels like a "betrayal." CNN goes to court to fight a defamation lawsuit filed by a security contractor. Reviewing the highlights from the 2025 Golden Globe Awards. For 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 Barrie Hardymon, Emily Kopp, Clare...
Jan 06, 2025•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast As Congress meets tomorrow to certify the results of the 2024 election, it also marks the 4-year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol. The participants of the riot on January 6, 2021 intended to disrupt the certification process of the 2020 election results. When it was all over four people were dead, 140 law enforcement officers were wounded and there was nearly $3 million in damage. There were people from all walks of life at the Capitol that day, but one thing that many of them had in com...
Jan 05, 2025•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast We'll bring you the latest on the FBI's investigation into the deadly Jan. 1st attack in New Orleans. Also, we'll take a look at the new Congress coming into session, with Republican House Speaker fighting for his job. Plus, we'll bring you the latest from the funereal events held for President Jimmy Carter, who passed away this week at the age of 100. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jan 04, 2025•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast The music returns to New Orleans' Bourbon Street, while investigators say a New Year's attacker acted alone. A new Congress prepares for a House speaker vote. And villagers in the Golan Heights tell NPR about Israeli security operations near Syria's border. For 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 Russell Lewis, Kelsey Snell, Martin Patience, Jan Johnson, and Alice Wo...
Jan 03, 2025•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast The FBI investigates a New Orleans attack that killed 15 as an "act of terrorism." Bomb techs join the probe at the suspect's Texas home. Law enforcers seek possible connections to a Las Vegas truck explosion. For 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 Susanna Capelouto, Gigi Douban, Jan Johnson, and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Kaity Kline, Ben Abrams and Julie De...
Jan 02, 2025•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ukraine's leader vows to end the fighting in 2025, just before Russian drones attack Kyiv again. A grid failure leaves more than half of Puerto Rico without power. Why resolve to have a "dry January?" For 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 Jan Johnson, and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Kaity Kline, Ben Abrams and Julie Depenbrock. We get engineering support from...
Jan 01, 2025•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast After a year of on-again, off-again Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations, what will 2025 hold? Israeli raids shut down a North Gaza hospital that aid workers called a lifeline. President Biden ends his political career with a complicated legacy. For 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 Didrik Schanche, Carrie Kahn, Dana Farrington, Jan Johnson, and Alice Woelfle. It wa...
Dec 31, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Former President Jimmy Carter is remembered for peacemaking and humanitarian causes. A high-ranking Syrian official makes unprecedented comments about relations with Israel to NPR. Families seek answers after a fiery airliner crash in South Korea. 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 Anna Yukhananov, Andrew Sussman, Ryland Barton, Jan Johnson and Alice Woelfle. I...
Dec 30, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Former President Jimmy Carter has died at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100 years old, a modest man with an unforgettable ear-to-ear grin. Carter was the country's 39th president, serving only one term from 1977 to 1981. His years in the White House were difficult. He faced enormous problems at home and abroad and struggled to prove that he was a strong and capable leader. But once he left office, Carter became an almost unstoppable force for peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts. In this ...
Dec 29, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast In our last episode of 2024, we go for a walk. Earlier this year, NPR's immigration reporter Jasmine Garsd and Code Switch producer Xavier Lopez spent a day in one of their favorite places in the world: Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, New York. It's a place they share with one of the most diverse communities in the world, a place where immigrants from around the globe gather to relax, recharge, and reconnect. Today on The Sunday Story , you'll hear an excerpt of an episode from NPR's Code Switc...
Dec 29, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to delay implementation of the law banning TikTok. Western officials say North Korean soldiers are dying in high numbers along the Ukrainian front. The FDA says Zepbound is no longer in shortage, raising its cost. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Dec 28, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast South Korea's parliament has voted to impeach the country's acting president. Israel launched its largest and most aggressive attack so far against the Houthis in Yemen. And, the country Georgia is set to swear in a new president while the incumbent has refused to stand down. 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 Andrew Sussman, Nick Spicer, Peter Granitz, Lisa Th...
Dec 27, 2024•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast A Russian attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure leaves thousands of people without heat. The auto sector is in the midst of two seismic changes and that means existing companies will need to adapt. And, the holiday season in Nigeria is muted this year against the backdrop of one of the country's worst economic crises in decades. 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 edi...
Dec 26, 2024•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast For the second year in a row, official celebrations have been cancelled in Bethlehem, the city where Christian tradition says Jesus was born. Famine has spread in Sudan where people are experiencing one of the world's worst starvation crises in modern times. And, a look at the year's biggest stories from space. Join the new NPR Plus Bundle to support our work and get perks like sponsor-free listening and bonus episodes across more than 25 NPR podcasts. Want more comprehensive analysis of the mos...
Dec 25, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Facing a manpower shortage, Ukraine is relying more and more on unmanned flying attack drones. The visas used by foreign-born scientists is an immigration category expected to come under renewed scrutiny under the incoming presidential administration. And, a look at three new species added to the scientific record this year. Join the new NPR Plus Bundle to support our work and get perks like sponsor-free listening and bonus episodes across more than 25 NPR podcasts. Want more comprehensive analy...
Dec 24, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Biden uses his clemency authority to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on federal death row to life without parole. The National Institutes of Health recently announced it's investing $300 million dollars to research treatments for long COVID. Antiquities in Lebanon were destroyed during the Israel-Hezbollah war despite protections for cultural sites under the laws of war. Join the new NPR Plus Bundle to support our work and get perks like sponsor-free listening and bonus episo...
Dec 23, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast In part two of our story about Ben Spencer, a man sentenced to life in prison for a crime he said he didn't commit, former NPR correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty begins her own investigation. She returns to the scene of the crime and reinterviews witnesses. Hagerty finds new evidence of Spencer's innocence. And yet, the courts refuse to release him. In this episode of The Sunday Story from Up First, a look at what finally happens to a man who pinned his hopes on the idea that the truth would ...
Dec 22, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1987, Ben Spencer, a young black man from Dallas, Texas was convicted in the killing of a white businessman. He was sentenced to life in prison by an all-white jury. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime and he had an alibi. Over the years, eyewitnesses recanted their testimony and a judge, after reviewing all the prior evidence, declared Spencer to be an innocent man. Nonetheless, Spencer remained in prison for more than three decades. For seven of those years, former NPR c...
Dec 22, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Congress approved a short-term spending deal to keep government running until mid-March. A man drove a car into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, killing at least five. Netflix again plans to stream major sporting events live, after a rocky first attempt last month. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Dec 21, 2024•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Congress has a midnight deadline to fund the federal government. Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump instructed Republicans to kill a bipartisan plan. Then the House rejected Trump's preferred alternative. Russia's army has lost thousands of soldiers trying to capture a strategic Ukrainian town, and in Syria, the rebel group that toppled former dictator Bashar al-Assad is now is now tasked with building a new government that includes everyone in a divided country. Want more comprehensive ...
Dec 20, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast TikTok's U.S. future is up to the Supreme Court. The Chinese-owned company wants the high court to stop a ban of the app from taking effect next month. Many Syrian refugees say they want to go home, now that the Assad regime is gone — but what will wait there for them? In France, judges delivered verdicts in a rape case that has shocked the nation and the world. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter . Today...
Dec 19, 2024•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism. What does that mean? The Federal Reserve considers one last cut in interest rates for the year, and identity of a school shooter in Wisconsin is forcing to reconsider gender stereotypes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Dec 18, 2024•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast President-elect Donald Trump has been holding court at Mar-a-Lago since his election victory. CEOs, foreign leaders and lawmakers have all made the trip to South Florida. He talked about his visitors and other issues in a post election news conference yesterday. Two people were killed when a student opened fire at a Wisconsin school. The alleged shooter is also dead. A gene-edited pig kidney has for the first time been transplanted into a human. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most impor...
Dec 17, 2024•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Some people in Syria aren't so sure what the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government means for them. We hear from Syrians who ask if the collapse of the old regime might bring retribution against them. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is trying one more time for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. What could make this time any different? ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit with President-elect Trump. The network will donate millions to his presidential library, even though experts felt AB...
Dec 16, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast The legendary African American poet Nikki Giovanni passed away this week at the age of 81. Since fiercely coming onto the scene during the Black Power movement of the 1960s, Giovanni established a rich and powerful literary legacy. Her work often celebrated the power of Black joy contained within the fight for civil rights by reminding readers that "Black love is Black wealth". Today on the show, we feature a conversation between Rachel Martin, host of NPR's Wild Card , and Nikki Giovanni from e...
Dec 15, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast South Korea's parliament impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for his attempt to impose martial law on the democracy. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion medication to a Dallas-area woman. A drought in Brazil has caused the price of coffee on the futures market to reach a 47-year high. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Dec 14, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast The fall of Syria's regime is a blow to Iran. Iranian money and troops propped up former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government. How much do the developments in Syria set back an adversary of Israel and the U.S.? Some American colleges have issued a warning to their international students. They're suggesting students should try to return before Inauguration Day, to avoid any trouble at the border. Also, who's flying drones over New Jersey? Want more comprehensive analysis of the most impo...
Dec 13, 2024•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
