Steve Inskeep
Appearances
Fresh Air
Amanda Knox Is 'Free,' But Is That Enough?
Hi, this is Steve Inskeep. Our team is in China, inside a historic Chinese trading city where people come from all over the world to buy wholesale goods to import to their countries. And we're here to find out, among other things, how people are responding to tariffs on goods that go to the United States. Listen for that report on Up First from NPR News.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 34: The Passover Instituted (2025)
I think it's a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance.
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 34: The Passover Instituted (2025)
I think it's a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance. It's also a testimony to the strength of our personal friendship.
Up First from NPR
Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadal, and this is Up First from NPR News. Steve Bannon, a sometime advisor to the president, talks of a busy summer.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
On day 100 of his second term, President Trump celebrated changes to America in his second term.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
I think the convergence, particularly of spending cuts and the simultaneously constitutional crisis that we're hurtling to is going to make this summer a summer like no other.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Bannon has a front row seat for whatever happens. He broadcasts a daily webcast from a Washington, D.C. townhouse that we visited this week.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
There's going to be a confrontation. I think the convergence, particularly of spending cuts and the simultaneously constitutional crisis that we're hurtling to is going to make this summer a summer like no other.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Now, Steve Bannon promoted Trump's cause back in 2016 and worked in the White House for a time. Now he is pushing the administration to go even further. Political observers still follow Bannon as one of several indicators for where a part of Trump's coalition may be going. And that is one reason we've been over to see him.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Well, he says he represents the working class, the average person. We should be clear, Bannon is a Harvard MBA, made lots of money on Wall Street and Hollywood. And in the first Trump administration, he had the Elon Musk role, the upscale advisor. This time around, he's had his differences with Musk. He talks about oligarchs. He attacks Wall Street and the economic system.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
And he spends a lot of time on his podcast and webcast insisting the working class is being screwed. He talks about income inequality, which is a widely accepted idea. People on the left can nod their heads when he talks about that.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
How is a populist podcaster defending the president's first hundred days? And what does he see in the next hundred?
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
The debate, of course, is about his solutions, which involve attacking the bureaucracy and expelling immigrants without legal status and even some people with legal status.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Tamara just said that polls indicate Americans think Trump has gone too far, Bannon wants more. More intense attacks on universities, for example. He wants to go after public universities, not just the elite private ones. Trump has canceled some student visas.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Bannon was on his program Monday talking about sending home hundreds of thousands of Chinese students, all of them immediately if it were up to him.
Up First from NPR
Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Oh, we had a very long discussion about this. The Supreme Court, of course, unanimously said that people who are being thrown out of the country deserve some kind of due process. This includes Trump appointees. A Trump-appointed judge said due process hadn't even been followed in one case for a two-year-old U.S. citizen recently.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
But Bannon is using this phrase, it's very common on the right, judicial insurrection. Hmm. Saying judges are improperly standing in the way of the president. We also in this conversation talked about the president's claim of sweeping powers to raise tariffs. And here's how some of that discussion went.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Does it concern you at all that a president could claim the power to completely transform the economy all by himself just on his say so?
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Well, it's not just on his say so. He did execute emergency powers to do this given the emergency that's there both on fentanyl and on the national security.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
But the emergency is he says there's an emergency. That's all there is.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
No, he gave backup document to him on the fentanyl issue.
Up First from NPR
Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Canada?
Up First from NPR
Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
The deficits alone. The trade deficit is $25 trillion, brother. That's not an emergency.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
The U.S. does have an annual trade deficit with other nations, which the White House estimates at $1.2 trillion last year.
Up First from NPR
Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
We got a sense of that in this part of the interview. We've got to start making things again. The high value added part of manufacturing has to come back. Something that a man or a woman can have a job and have a family and have their spouse stay home if they so want and raise their kids. Once we're back to that, the country is going to be vibrant and robust again.
Up First from NPR
Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
He's looking at an older idea of the economy, which is connected to a more traditional idea of the family. Of course, we're far from that now. And as we heard, Bannon is forecasting a summer of crisis.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Ready to make good on President Trump's promise to pass a big bill full of his top policy priorities. In the House, they say the goal is to write these plans covering everything from taxes and immigration to spending cuts and pass it by Memorial Day, which is less than a month from now.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
All of our committees have been meeting both individually. We've been meeting with the president for about a year to get to this moment and start delivering on those things that we all ran on.
Up First from NPR
Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
How about that? It's a little early for that superlative, but Trump's critics and fans alike agree that these 100 days were consequential. Trump has pushed the limits of presidential power. He invoked wartime authorities to crack down on immigration. He punished his political enemies and launched a trade war that shook consumer confidence and also shook U.S. relationships with the world.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
And I'm Stephen Skeap. You can listen to this podcast sponsor-free while financially supporting public media with Up First Plus. Sponsor-free because you're sponsoring the programming, which means it's in your interest. Learn more at plus.npr.org. That's P-L-U-S dot N-P-R dot org.
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Trump Marks 100 Days, Steve Bannon On Trump's Presidency, The "Big Beautiful Bill"
Is that how your uncle would say it?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Two actions this week show the scope of President Trump's bid to reshape the federal government.
Up First from NPR
Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
In a moment, we'll hear from a former top budget official in the George W. Bush administration. First, NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid is here to talk about it all. Asma, good morning. Good morning, Steve. Okay, so the memo was going out to workers last night, I heard. What exactly is the federal government offering its employees?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Now, this email to federal workers, I guess it'll be played out. Maybe it'll go to court. We'll find out what happens in the hours and days to come. But then there's this other memo pausing payments, trillions of dollars worth of payments, it said yesterday. What exactly was the federal government trying to do with that?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
What was the response to all of this?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Also, the nation's report card is out, which shows how American students are doing in math and reading five years after the start of the pandemic.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
The charge being here that Congress, not the president, set spending. So what's the ruling mean?
Up First from NPR
Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid, thanks so much. Good to speak with you. Now reporters are putting questions to the administration today about another story that emerged overnight.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
That is one of the first actions under Trump's newly confirmed secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth. General Milley repeatedly criticized Trump and also worked behind the scenes to ensure a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election or as peaceful as possible. Former President Biden issued a preemptive pardon of Milley before leaving office. Today, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
takes questions from senators about his bid to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
And Kennedy has offered a lot of opinions on health over the years. NPR's Selina Simmons-Duffin is here. Good morning. Morning, Steve. Okay, so what has Kennedy said and done that lawmakers may have questions about?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
What is the case that his supporters are making for RFK Jr. in this role?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
And I guess we should note here and there, there's been a Democrat who said, listen, I agree with Kennedy about this one thing here and there. But then there are efforts to block his confirmation because of all those other opinions you just mentioned. What's going on?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Oh, that's interesting because so many people on the right have felt they need to support everything the president does. Who's resisting?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
I'm beginning to wonder, Selina, if just one confirmation hearing is going to be sufficient for all the questions that senators have.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Okay, HELP Committee, Health, Education, Labor, what's the P? Do we know the P?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Oh, pensions. NPR's Selina Simmons-Steffan, thanks so much.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Every two years, we get a rare glimpse of how the nation's students are doing in math and reading.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
NPR's Corey Turner has been looking at the data. Corey, good morning.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Okay, so how are our students doing?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
The administration offered the equivalent of several months' pay. How are courts answering another administration move to pause federal spending?
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Okay. So that bit of good news amid some not so good news, I guess.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Well, this is disturbing at a time when education is so closely linked to people's success later in life.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
What happened to all the money that the federal government spent since the peak of the pandemic to try to make up for some of the pandemic educational losses?
Up First from NPR
Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Really appreciate that insight that this slide would have started before the pandemic, something bigger going on. Corey, thanks so much. You're welcome, Steve. That's NPR's Corey Turner. And that's a first for this Wednesday, January 29th.
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Trump Remaking Government, RFK Jr. Confirmation Hearings, US Education Report Card
Today's Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Diane Weber, Nicole Cohen, Jenea Williams, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, Claire Murashima, and Chris Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Gaza Food Distribution Chaos, New COVID-19 Vaccine Guidelines, Children Of ISIS
I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. The United States updated its COVID-19 vaccine guidelines. The shot is no longer recommended for children or pregnant women who are otherwise healthy. Health experts had given different advice. So what does this mean for you and your family?
Up First from NPR
Gaza Food Distribution Chaos, New COVID-19 Vaccine Guidelines, Children Of ISIS
Yesterday, Israel implemented its new U.S.-backed plan to control the distribution of aid in Gaza, but the rollout has led to chaos. Witnesses say people were shot by Israeli forces as hungry crowds swarmed a site where food was being distributed. Israel says it fired warning shots.
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Gaza Food Distribution Chaos, New COVID-19 Vaccine Guidelines, Children Of ISIS
Federal health officials say this change makes sense at this point in the pandemic. Independent experts have a different view.
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Gaza Food Distribution Chaos, New COVID-19 Vaccine Guidelines, Children Of ISIS
There is a new government in Syria, but it is facing an old problem. Ever since ISIS collapsed in Syria, tens of thousands of relatives of those ISIS fighters have been held in huge desert camps. They're mostly children. The United States wants to reduce the population of the camps and get those kids out.
Up First from NPR
Gaza Food Distribution Chaos, New COVID-19 Vaccine Guidelines, Children Of ISIS
I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Steve Inskeep. You just heard Sasha Pfeiffer bringing us reporting about children in Syrian detention camps. Listen to Consider This, which is our sister podcast from All Things Considered.
Up First from NPR
Intel Hearing On Group Chat, Return To Office Mandate, Black Sea Deal
Hi, this is Steve Inskeep. Our team is in China, inside a historic Chinese trading city where people come from all over the world to buy wholesale goods to import to their countries. The hotel where we're staying is full. This is a very busy time, and we're here to find out, among other things, how people are responding to tariffs on goods that go to the United States.
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Intel Hearing On Group Chat, Return To Office Mandate, Black Sea Deal
Listen for that report on Up First from NPR News.
Up First from NPR
House Budget Plan, DOGE Resignations, Battle Against Bird Flu
That's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. The president holds a cabinet meeting today and will bring along an aide. The White House insists Elon Musk is not in charge of anything. And some departments ignored his most recent order. So who is making decisions?
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House Budget Plan, DOGE Resignations, Battle Against Bird Flu
House Republicans barely passed a budget plan making room for tax cuts and cuts to programs like Medicaid.
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House Budget Plan, DOGE Resignations, Battle Against Bird Flu
Yeah, also expected to show up, special government employee Elon Musk. He has been telling federal employees what to do, though the White House denies he's in charge of anything. And some cabinet secretaries have asserted their own authority over agencies.
Up First from NPR
House Budget Plan, DOGE Resignations, Battle Against Bird Flu
Yeah, the first person to die from bird flu was reported last month, and two people were recently hospitalized in Wyoming and Ohio. The CDC still says the risk to humans is low. But inside the poultry industry, there's a fight brewing over how to take the battle against bird flu to the next level.
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House Budget Plan, DOGE Resignations, Battle Against Bird Flu
And I'm Leila Fadil. Make your next listen, Consider This. The team behind NPR's All Things Considered goes deep into a single news story in just 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
House Budget Plan, DOGE Resignations, Battle Against Bird Flu
Republicans passed a budget plan without a single vote to spare. Speaker Mike Johnson had a problem with some lawmakers reluctant to sign on until they switched at the last moment.
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House Budget Plan, DOGE Resignations, Battle Against Bird Flu
Now, the spending cuts in this budget blueprint are different from the ones announced so far by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. For one thing, the cuts are big. For another, they would be legal, assuming Congress follows through on the rest of a very long process.
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Global Economic Forecast Dims, Ukraine Peace Talks, Pope Francis Lies In State
I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. Western European nations want more support for Ukraine. They're meeting today in London as the U.S. pushes for a ceasefire in Russia's invasion. How much territory is the United States pressing Ukraine to give up?
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Global Economic Forecast Dims, Ukraine Peace Talks, Pope Francis Lies In State
A Massachusetts man runs a business making high-end board games in China.
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Global Economic Forecast Dims, Ukraine Peace Talks, Pope Francis Lies In State
These talks will include the United States, but not the top diplomat. It will no longer involve Secretary of State Marco Rubio nor President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The U.S., you will recall, has wanted to go its own way in brokering a ceasefire while Europeans have focused more on supporting Ukraine. And the Europeans take the lead in the meeting today.
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Global Economic Forecast Dims, Ukraine Peace Talks, Pope Francis Lies In State
A choir sang and cardinals chanted in Latin as Pope Francis' body was carried in a red velvet-lined open casket. For three days, mourners will be able to pay their respects. His funeral will be on Saturday, and hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend.
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Global Economic Forecast Dims, Ukraine Peace Talks, Pope Francis Lies In State
The Treasury Secretary told business leaders that the U.S. and China need some way out of triple-digit tariffs. Multiple forecasts are calling for sharply lower economic growth. The International Monetary Fund is the latest. It tracks the world economy and sees economic trouble for the globe.
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Global Economic Forecast Dims, Ukraine Peace Talks, Pope Francis Lies In State
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR News. We hear it up first, give you three big stories of the day, and Consider This dives into a single news story and what it means to you. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
President Trump's administration is rolling out its immigration actions day by day.
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
NPR immigration policy reporter Ximena Bustillo has been following all these developments. She's in our studios. Ximena, thanks for coming by.
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
OK, we've heard things the administration is saying and gradually we're finding out how far they will go. Just a few weeks ago, December 16th, an advisor to the president was on NPR and was played a prediction about, quote, businesses being raided and, quote, kids not in your schools. And Mary Louise Kelly asked Jason Miller what he thought. Jason Miller, is he wrong?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
So dismissing the idea of people vanishing from schools, what are we learning now?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
Okay, so we'll keep watching that to see how far it goes. What else is the administration saying about immigration?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
I appreciate the one thing you said. You said one of these moves about humanitarian parole accelerates a Biden decision. Biden's administration was also deporting people. This is a thing the United States does under any administration. But the terms are changing. And you mentioned when you were on the program yesterday that some people are suing over the new rules. Who else is suing now and why?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
Immigration officers have clearance to make arrests in schools and churches, places previously considered off-limits. We're getting them out of the country. They're going to be gotten out of the country first. How do the new rules change law enforcement? I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News.
Up First from NPR
New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
NPR's Ximena Bastillo, thanks for coming by.
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
The president's nominee for secretary of defense is once again facing allegations of alcohol abuse and misconduct.
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
Also, Israel launched a military operation in the occupied West Bank. How, if at all, does that fit in with the ceasefire that finally arrived in Gaza? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
Unsurprisingly, the affidavit is now public. NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh is among reporters who obtained copies. Deirdre, good morning.
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
Okay, so what in this document adds to what was already known?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
Well, what does Hegseth say about all that?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
In a broad sense, said they were anonymous allegations and so forth. I guess the key question here involves Republican senators. How are they responding to this?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
Yeah, I guess we should note the political context as well, that President Trump has demanded this nominee and conservative groups have campaigned pretty strongly and threatened primaries and so forth against Republican senators. Deirdre, thanks so much. Thank you, Steve. That's NPR's Deirdre Walsh. Okay, the ceasefire in Gaza is holding in a fourth day.
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
We're joined by NPR's Kat Lonsdorf, who was just there. Hey there, Kat. Hey. Okay, so we're told this military operation focuses on the Jenin refugee camp, which is a phrase we use from time to time in this coverage. But what do we mean when we say refugee camp?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
I feel we need to dwell always on the map here when we say West Bank. So there's Gaza, which is a separate area, which was the center of the war between Israel and Hamas, where there's now a ceasefire. The West Bank is a separate area, much bigger in size. Millions of Palestinians live there. A lot of Israeli settlers have also moved in with the sanction of the Israeli government.
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
And we have this bit of news that President Trump, after his inauguration, has said he will end sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank. What does that mean?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
How is all this affecting life in the West Bank?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
And of course there's a new presidential administration, as we mentioned. How do they view the West Bank?
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New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
NPR's Kat Lonsdorf, thanks so much. Thank you. And that's up first for this Wednesday, January 22nd. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
New ICE Policies, Hegseth Claims, West Bank Attacks
Today's Up First was edited by Kelsey Snell, Krishnadev Kalamer, Jerome Sokolofsky, Olivia Hampton, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Budge, Chris Thomas, Milton Guevara, and Claire Murashima, who is pointing at me right now. That's when I talk, whenever she points. Anyway, we get engineering support from Robert Rodriguez and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadal, and this is Up First from NPR News. South Africa's president is coming to Washington. He'll be meeting with President Trump, whose administration has accused South Africa of discriminating against its own white citizens. How does all this look from Johannesburg?
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
House Speaker Mike Johnson wants a vote as soon as today, but as always, he needs almost every Republican on his side in order to pass it.
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
President Trump warns House Republicans to accept a proposal for tax and spending changes along with a lot of borrowing.
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
Yeah, this is interesting. Earlier this year, the Trump administration cut aid to South Africa and expelled the South African ambassador. In recent days, the U.S. took another step. The president, who has been pushing away refugees from other parts of the world, granted refugee status to white South Africans. Now the government of the black majority country says it wants a reset.
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
Elon Musk may not be spending quite so much time at the White House.
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
that Doge has tried to cut in recent weeks. NPR's Stephen Fowler is covering all of this and is on the line. Hi there, Stephen. Good morning. So who's getting a knock on the door here?
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
I guess we should mention different laws apply to different organizations, which themselves are organized differently. Could they just say no thanks to Doge's requests?
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
Stephen, what does all of this add to your understanding of what Doge is doing?
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
NPR's Stephen Fowler, who reported this story with our colleague Shannon Bond. Thanks so much. Thank you.
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Thanks for listening to Up First. You can find more coverage of the stories we discussed today on NPR's Morning Edition. It's a radio show. Leila co-hosts that radio show, which is one of the main reasons you'd want to tune in. I get to do it with her, along with A. Martinez and Michelle Martin. And you can find Morning Edition on your NPR station.
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Negotiating Trump's Sweeping Agenda, South Africa's President, DOGE Cuts
And if you're wondering how to do that, go to stations.npr.org.
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Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Okay, you mentioned vaccines there. Do health authorities feel they understand how this particular outbreak got going?
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Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Okay, I guess she's saying that it's a little bit harder to catch up to this disease and track and isolate it when you're in some of the rural areas. I'd like to know, though, is this outbreak in West Texas representative of things going on around the country?
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Samantha, thanks so much. Thank you. Samantha Larned is a reporter with member station KTTZ in Lubbock, Texas. President Trump's drive to cut back the federal government includes cuts to a traditional tool against China.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
NPR's Emily Fang has covered China for many years and is on the line. Emily, good morning. Hey, Steve, good morning. Okay, so why would the administration back off democracy promotion now?
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Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
OK, so this is worldwide, the effects of these changes. But a good portion of the funding was supporting Chinese dissidents, some diversity of opinion within China. So what does China think of that? Yeah.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Also, Brazilian authorities filed charges against a former president for a coup attempt. Do they put a former president on trial? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. Measles is spreading across parts of West Texas.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Wow. Thanks for all that reporting. So what are some of these groups that risk getting their funding cut?
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Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Well, how does this affect Americans?
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Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
That's NPR's Emily Fang. OK, Brazil's former president could be facing a long prison sentence for his participation in what authorities say was an attempt to overturn the country's election in 2022.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
NPR South America correspondent Carrie Khan has been following all of this. Carrie, good morning. Good morning. Wow. Coup attempt, inciting violence, poisoning. What more can you say about these accusations?
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Well, the draft of the speech, I guess, would be pretty strong evidence. But what has Bolsonaro said about the allegations?
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Well, these events took place almost two years ago. Had people been waiting for these charges a long time?
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Which is where we find Samantha Larned of our member station KTTZ. Samantha, good morning. Good morning. What's it like there?
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Okay, so long investigation, plea deals, 900-page report. Now we have the criminal charges. Where do we go next?
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
NPR's Kerry Kahn, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
And that's a first for this Wednesday. And that's a first for this. We should have kept that in. I should have just kept going. Just a little hacking. A little bit of hacking. Exactly. Exactly. Got to wake up. That's all there is to it. And that's Up First for this Wednesday, February 19th. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Today's Up First was edited by Alfredo Carvajal, Padmananda Rama, Tara Neal, Reena Advani, and Jenea Williams. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Simon Laszlo Janssen, and our technical director, also always very supportive, is Stacey Abbott. Join us tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Other places have seen it too. So what's behind the return of a disease health officials once thought they had eradicated?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
What do police say about the online celebration of the murder?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
When does a murder also qualify as an act of terrorism?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
NPR's Sarah Ventry is covering the aftermath of this story in New York. Good morning. Good morning. Okay, why call it terrorism?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
But it keeps going on. Is this right? There's been crowdfunding for Luigi Mangione's defense?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
Okay, so that is the way that some people see this. Prosecutors see this as terrorism. What else do the charges say?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
Okay, so the suspect is not yet in New York. He's being held in Pennsylvania. How does he end up getting brought across state lines?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
Okay. NPR's Sarah Ventry will continue following the story, whatever happens. Thanks so much, Sarah.
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
The cost of borrowing money to buy a car or grow a business could get a little bit cheaper this afternoon.
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
NPR's Scott Horsley is covering this as always. Scott, good morning.
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
Okay, so I know that Fed governors tend to signal, try to not surprise people and signal what they may be doing. So what do you expect the Fed to do?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
Also, we explore something rare about a school shooting in Wisconsin. The shooter was a girl. What does this teach us about the profile of people who commit such acts? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
Okay. And I guess we should just remember here, interest rates are linked with inflation. That's the main tool the Fed has for battling inflation. They went up because inflation went up. Now interest rates are going down. Does that mean the battle against inflation is over?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
I appreciate the metaphor. Thank you for extending it. But if inflation is that stubborn, why would the Fed cut interest rates again?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
When you say the word forecast, of course, we're talking about a change in presidential administrations, a big change in some big economic policies or policies that relate to the economy. How is the Fed preparing for that?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
I suppose by then we'll have some idea of what economic effect Trump's policies will have had, which ones he succeeded in imposing, how he did that, and what the effect is on inflation.
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
NPR's Scott Horsley, thanks.
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
The identity of a school shooter in Wisconsin is forcing us to think about what kinds of people would do something like this.
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
NPR's Katie Riddle covers mental health and joins us. Hi there. Hi, Steve. How unusual is it to have a female shooter?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
Okay, more likely, meaning you might have boys who respond like this, you might have girls respond like this, but it's just that females are less likely to lash out this way?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
I appreciate that. She's saying don't stereotype somebody. Look at what's going on with the individual. But with that said, does this change anything in terms of red flags to look for?
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
Katia, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
That's NPR's Katia Riddle. And if you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call or text 988. That's 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Up First from NPR
Murder As An Act Of Terrorism, Fed's Rate Cut Decision, Female Mass Shooters
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Kevin Drew, Rafael Nam, Diane Weber, H.J. Mai, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Nisha Heines, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Smooth Sailing For Trump's Nominees?, LA Fire Outlook, South Korea President Arrested
They all go before Senate committees. The Constitution and tradition give lawmakers the power of advice and consent. Supporters of President-elect Trump have pressured Republicans to consent. And the number two Senate Republican, John Barrasso, says Democrats should cooperate.
Up First from NPR
Smooth Sailing For Trump's Nominees?, LA Fire Outlook, South Korea President Arrested
Who gets a hearing today? I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadal, and this is Up First from NPR News. In Los Angeles, firefighters are working to contain what remains of two wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes. Those who have homes to return to say they want to go back, but forecasters predict the Santa Ana winds will blow again.
Up First from NPR
Smooth Sailing For Trump's Nominees?, LA Fire Outlook, South Korea President Arrested
Senators have the power of advice and consent. Republicans say they'll go heavy on the consent.
Up First from NPR
Smooth Sailing For Trump's Nominees?, LA Fire Outlook, South Korea President Arrested
Still, forecasters are warning residents to stay on watch, and neighborhoods and fire zones remain locked down to the frustration of many homeowners. NPR's Martin Kosty is in L.A., and he joins us now with the latest.
Up First from NPR
Smooth Sailing For Trump's Nominees?, LA Fire Outlook, South Korea President Arrested
This is the first time that police there have detained a sitting president. Every word there matters somewhere. Last month, Yoon sparked a crisis when he briefly declared martial law.
Up First from NPR
Smooth Sailing For Trump's Nominees?, LA Fire Outlook, South Korea President Arrested
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Listen to Up First all sorts of ways, including our app. You hear local coverage from the NPR station that is closest to you and stories from every place else. You also get podcast suggestions based on what you like. Download the NPR app at your app store.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram is positioning itself for a new administration.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
NPR's Bobby Allen is covering this. Bobby, good morning. Hey there, Steve. Okay, so what was Meta doing and what are they going to be doing now?
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Bobby, when he says he's responding to the recent elections, that's very close to saying that he's adjusting policies for Trump.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
If we assume that Zuckerberg is acting out of business reasons here, what is the business case for currying favor with the president-elect?
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Also, clouds of smoke hang over neighborhoods in Southern California. Tens of thousands have had to evacuate.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Winter definitely is not. It's cold and snowy in many places, and it's time for another annual tradition, the winter respiratory virus season.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
How widespread are the wildfires? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
You know, just before I went to bed last night, Renee Montaigne, the longtime former host of Morning Edition, sent over some photos from her neighborhood, images that showed orange-tinted smoke on the horizon in her part of Southern California.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
NPR's Liz Baker has the latest from Southern California. Liz, good morning.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Wow. And the speed with which this happened is remarkable. One minute, nothing was happening. Another minute, I'm seeing these images on social media and in my text messages.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
I'm glad that one is out anyway. What is the damage so far as you can tell?
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Okay. NPR's Liz Baker, thanks for the update. Be safe, please. Thanks, Steve. She's in Los Angeles, where there are wildfires in the metro area. And that's Up First for this Wednesday, January 8th.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Mark Zuckerberg announced the change. How does it fit with his other moves as the Trump administration returns to power?
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Today's Up First was edited by Cara Platoni, Scott Hensley, Denise Rios, Jenea Williams, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Bunch, Nia Dumas, and Lily Quiroz. We get engineering support from David Greenberg. And our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow. Carly will.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Well, the president certainly celebrated some of his more divisive or partisan achievements.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Well, did the president talk about his plans for the year ahead? This can be a table setting moment.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
In this 90-minute or more speech, Franco, did anything go unsaid?
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
That's White House correspondent Franco Ordonez. Franco, thanks so much. Thanks, Steve. Now, Democrats took note of what the president didn't say about prices. Senator Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan delivered the party's response.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Slotkin argued that Trump's tariffs and other proposals will raise prices the opposite of what voters said they wanted in last year's election.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
NPR's immigration policy reporter Jimena Bastillo is listening in and is with us after a long night. Jimena, good morning. Good morning, Steve. Well, how did the president highlight immigration as you listened?
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Also, how is China responding to U.S. tariffs? The communist government has its own public ritual, the annual meeting of its one-party Congress. Our colleague John Ruich is there. and helps us to listen in. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. President Trump took the occasion of a speech to Congress to proclaim in his view that America is back.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Now, the president made a claim during the address that illegal border crossings are at the lowest level ever recorded. What do the facts show you?
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Okay, so that is a drop.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Now, the president, interestingly enough, also talked about letting people in to the country. Future action on visas. What's he talking about?
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
NPR's Ximena Bastillo. Get some sleep.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Okay, President Trump was not the only world leader to give a big speech in front of a legislature in the past day.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
NPR's John Ruich was at the Great Hall of the People, a big building in the middle of Beijing, to hear this. And he's on the line. John, hi there.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
So did China's leaders use this occasion to respond to what President Trump was saying here, including about them?
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Oh, this is really interesting. I've been talking with economic and business figures connected with China who seem to think that tariffs will hurt Americans more than they're going to hurt the Chinese. But what are you hearing where you are?
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Okay, so that's the spin, and there's not nothing behind the spin, but also China's economy has really been struggling, sputtering, and doing strange things the last couple of years. So how do they address that?
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Okay, so I just want to note, there's a one-party Congress, not likely to have a failed vote or a close vote on anything, but it does, I guess, signal where the government is going. So what do you expect in the coming days?
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Really appreciate it, John. You're welcome. And that's a first for this Wednesday, March 5th. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
Today's Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Kevin Drew, Ryland Barton, Alice Wolfley, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Bach, Nia Dumas, and Chris Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hainas, and our technical director is Stacey Abbott. Join us again tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
I should have described her fist pump as I said her name. He's ready. Stacey Abbott!
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez was listening to all of those minutes, and he joins us now. Franco, good morning.
Up First from NPR
What Trump Said Last Night, Trump On Immigration, China Tariff Confidence
What was it like?
Up First from NPR
Trump And Gaza, Migrants At Guantanamo, USAID Staff On Leave
All you're doing this for is the symbolism, to be able to say, look, I moved these folks from the detention center across town to Guantanamo. It's all like very, very expensive flash with very little substance.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
A day when he says he's going to make good on a promise to impose tariffs on many, many countries.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
The president says he's made up his mind on which tariffs to impose where, although we don't know the details yet. Markets have been nervous leading up to this day amid concerns that taxes on imports hurt rather than help the U.S. economy and also raise consumer prices.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadal, and this is Up First from NPR News. It was the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history. And despite Elon Musk putting his money and support behind a conservative candidate, liberals held on to their state Supreme Court majority in Wisconsin.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
President Trump calls this Liberation Day, as in Tariff Day.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
How did this race become a referendum on Musk?
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
Solid wins for Republicans, although the margins were a little bit less than they were just last year. In Wisconsin, in what became the most expensive judicial race in American history, the liberal judge Susan Crawford was elected to the state Supreme Court.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
She beat conservative Brad Schimel, who ran with Trump's endorsement, and some $20 million from Elon Musk, along with groups affiliated with him. Here's Crawford last night.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
President Trump's administration admits sending the man to El Salvador despite knowing about a court order preventing them from doing that. Responding to questions from reporters, Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt spoke of Kilmer Armando Abrego-Garcia.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
By calling it an administrative error, the government avoids saying they deliberately defied a court order. The government goes on to assert that a judge should have no power to overrule the mistake and the administration does not want to bring the man back anyway.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
His lawyers questioned the government's claim that he is a gang member at all, says he wasn't convicted of a crime, and that he was not supposed to be sent specifically to El Salvador.
Up First from NPR
Trump's 'Liberation Day', Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, Mistaken Deportation
And I'm Steve Inskeep. For your next listen, consider Consider This from NPR News. We hear it up first, give you the first three big stories of the day. And our Consider This colleagues take a different approach, diving into a single news story. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
So how did you spend your New Year's Eve, Layla?
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
That's great, that's great. And went to sleep. What'd you do? I stayed up with the kids until Rio de Janeiro at 10 o'clock Eastern time. Ooh, that's a fun one. Anyway, we also want to start the year by thanking everyone who joined NPR Plus or made a donation to the NPR Network or your local station during our end-of-the-year fundraising campaign.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
They began shortly after Ukraine's president addressed his nation. Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the agony of 2024 with heavy casualties and Russia's army advancing. Many Ukrainians fear this year will be harder.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
And thanks if you already were an NPR Plus supporter.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
A collapse of the power grid left nearly all the island without electricity yesterday. The latest outage since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
If you missed making your donation before the end of the year, no worries. It's never a bad time. New year. Sign up for NPR Plus today and get perks from more than 25 NPR podcasts at plus.npr.org.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
Because it is January 1st, some people, maybe a few, might be listening to this with a slight hangover after ringing in the new year.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
NPR's Life Kit host, Mariel Segara, is here. Good morning. Good morning, Steve. And Happy New Year. Why might someone consider participating in Dry January?
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
A big show. The first of the year. Exactly. Ukrainians set modest goals for the year now beginning.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
Congratulations!
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
You mentioned it's everywhere in the culture. People are often expected to have a drink when they go out. It's how many people socialize.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
Yeah, no. No, I'm sorry.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
Okay, what's some other advice for people to get through 31 days of this?
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
I love that insight. If you're not the designated driver, you're not stuck there. You can bail out. So if people do this, can they expect, I don't know, some side effects in their lives?
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. A collapse of Puerto Rico's power grid left hundreds of thousands in the dark. Getting the lights back on everywhere could take more than a day, and a hurricane more than seven years ago may be at least partly to blame.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
NPR's Mariel Segara. Cheers. Cheers to you, Steve. And Happy New Year. If you want more from Life Kit about how to navigate dry January, they have a special newsletter you can sign up for at npr.org slash dry January.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR. We hear it up first, give you three big stories of the day. Consider This digs in on one big story. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine's New Year's Agony, Puerto Rico Power Outages, Dry January Tips
You know, every single one of those people probably has a New Year's Eve story as exciting as ours was.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
So, Layla. Yeah. Not sure if you noticed, but the end of the year is here.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
A year of ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas ends without a ceasefire. I think Netanyahu is waiting for Trump.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. The last major hospital in North Gaza is no longer operating. Israeli forces raided and detained doctors and nurses, saying the hospital was being used by Hamas. Aid workers contend a lifeline is severed.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
But maybe not the last time because there is a new year coming.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
Yeah. But anyway, this is what I meant. Yeah, exactly. But this is a nonprofit news organization. Yeah. Is it ever dedicated to more informed public debate through independent, honest, accurate, transparent, and fair journalism? Lots of adjectives, apparently. You can read all about our code of ethics at NPR.org.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
And so as the year ends, we have a review of efforts to stop the war in Gaza. Talks were on again, off again. Moments of optimism were followed by weeks of no talks at all.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
Those are the standards we hold ourselves to when we bring you each episode of Up First and everything else that you hear on NPR.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
This hospital has treated patients during all the past several months, as Israeli forces conducted an offensive around Gaza's northern edge. Israel explains the raid by insisting the hospital was used as a Hamas stronghold.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
It's the last day of 2024. No, it's not. Yes, it is. Yes, it is.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
Unlock the benefits by subscribing. But this is actually pretty cool. It's a new way to support NPR, get perks, including more than 25 podcasts like Planet Money and Fresh Air and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and more. Join NPR Plus today at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
Biden will be replaced by the president that he once replaced. And that is a big factor for any assessment of Biden's legacy.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR News. A first gives you three big stories of the day, and then our Consider This colleagues take a different approach, diving into a single news story and finding out what it means to you. And like this podcast, it's, you know, around 15 minutes or less. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
More than 1,400 respondents to an NPR, PBS News, Marist poll sent in their grades for President Trump's first 100 days. And the most common grade submitted for the president... is F. 45% gave him the failing mark.
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
A survey asked voters to grade President Trump's first 100 days in office. Some gave him an A, while the most common grade was F. What is working for the president, and how do some voters think he's falling short? I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. The president campaigned on a promise of retribution and also blurred what he meant by that.
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
100 days in, NPR has a list of people and institutions the president has targeted using government power.
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
The president campaigned for office promising retribution.
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
NPR investigative correspondent Tom Dreisbach compiled that list and is with us. Good morning, Tom. Good morning, Steve. Who exactly is Trump targeting?
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
It's striking to think about this, Tom, because Trump, of course, accused President Biden of using the Justice Department against him. Lawfare is what Republicans called it. He said that was wrong. Biden denied he was doing any such thing. Trump is openly doing that. openly doing the thing that he said was wrong. So what other government powers is he using?
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
Well, what does the administration say about this?
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
What do the people targeted by the power of the presidency have to say?
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
NPR's Tom Dreisbach is speaking about what he found in the facts of his reporting. Thanks so much. Thanks, Steve.
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
Our co-host Leila Fadl is in Vermont, where she became the first journalist to meet with any of the students in the facilities where they are held. She's talked with Columbia University student Mohsen Madawi in the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, Vermont.
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
Madawi is a green card holder, a permanent resident, detained at what he thought would be his naturalization interview for citizenship.
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
This was seen as a referendum on which candidate could best handle the United States under President Trump, who placed tariffs on Canada and sparked a wave of Canadian nationalism. Carney defeated Conservative Party leader Pierre Pallief.
Up First from NPR
Grading Trump's First 100 Days, Presidential Retaliation, Detained Student Speaks
And I'm Steve Inskeep. There's an easy way to stay connected to news and podcasts from the NPR network. It is the NPR app. You can hear community coverage from your local station, stories from around the world, and podcast suggestions based on what you like. Download the NPR app wherever it is you download apps.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
I wonder if you agree with that statement, that this episode is, in fact, a warning to all universities across the country.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
As you know very well, Mr. President, the Trump administration has taken a number of actions against Harvard University. They've cut off grants in a number of different ways. And most recently, they've ordered all international students to leave the university for some other university or for their home countries.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
One other thing, in reading the DHS, Department of Homeland Security, statement about Harvard, there is a line that struck me. let this serve as a warning. They're talking about their actions against Harvard. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
I wonder if you agree with that statement, that this is in fact, this episode is in fact a warning to all universities across the country.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
If you were going to make a warning to other universities, how would you phrase it?
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Mr. President, thanks so much for your time.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Alan Garber, the president of Harvard University, who came by the studios of one of our Boston member stations, WBUR. The president has since moved on to the rituals of graduation, which will proceed as they have for centuries in a political environment like no other. This has been a special episode of Up First from NPR News. It's produced by Ana Perez and edited by Rina Advani.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
In your lawsuit, the most recent of your lawsuits about this, you argue very quickly that this isn't really about international students, that it's an act of retaliation. What is really going on in your view?
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Our executive producer is Jay Shaler. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
President Trump's administration strikes again and again at the nation's oldest university, and Harvard has now sued the administration twice. What does the university do now? We have an interview with Harvard President Alan Garber in a special episode of Up First from NPR News. Coming up, Alan Garber calls on universities to insist on their rights.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
If you don't see a link, it raises the question of what you think the government is really doing. Is the administration trying to damage, destroy, or capture your university?
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
In the letter cutting off your ability to host international students, the Department of Homeland Security made a number of accusations, including these, that you, Harvard, brazenly refused to provide information that was demanded about international students and that you also, quote, ignored a follow-up question about them. Is either of those statements true?
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
We need to be firm in our commitments to what we stand for. He also admits Harvard has not always lived up to its commitment to the truth. When we fail in that, then we can expect to be attacked. Harvard has been attacked, so what does the president think his university is doing right and wrong? We put questions to Alan Garber, a figure in the news, today.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Are you going to be able to show in court that you provided information, which I believe your lawsuit says you did?
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
In that same statement announcing that you would lose the right to host international students, the DHS was able to link to one of Harvard's own documents. It's a report by a presidential commission to you, so it's your commission investigating problems at Harvard University. And I read through the document. There are a lot of accusations in there about things that have gone wrong here.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
And my eye fell on one sentence, which I wrote down. I'll quote it to you. Since fall 2023, different factions at Harvard have fought to force various university leaders to make statements, invest, divest, hire, fire, dox, undox, discipline students, and undiscipline them. That's your own commission talking about this university. How would you define the problem?
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Would you say that anti-Semitism on your campus is better, worse, or about the same as it would be anywhere else in America?
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
President Trump's administration began this week the same way that it ended last week with attacks on Harvard University. NPR has confirmed the administration plans to cancel another $100 million in contracts with Harvard. The administration had already put on hold some $2 billion in grants and contracts.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Is that a small example of what you're trying to do in a large way? You want to allow all sorts of ideas, but you want people to be able to engage each other civilly and not... Exactly.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Is this what you mean when, in the lawsuit, you say that without international students, which is a quarter of your student body, Harvard would not be Harvard? Absolutely. You argue that it's a benefit for U.S.-born students to have the international students here? Absolutely.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
We're listening to the NPR interview with Alan Garber, the president of Harvard University. Now, people have strong feelings about Harvard, and that's what we'll discuss in the next part of our interview. What would the president say to somebody who thinks this elite university deserves what it's getting? Stay with us.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Last week, the administration banned Harvard from hosting foreign students, and that prompted Harvard President Alan Garber to sue for the second time. A judge temporarily blocked the administration so foreign students can stay for now, but when we sat down with Garber on Monday, he knew the fight was far from over.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Our conversation with Alan Garber took place at the start of Harvard's graduation week. It's a week spent celebrating the university and its traditions and its students. We saw the preparations around campus. But of course, most voters never attend Harvard, and that political reality informed the last part of our conversation with the university president.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
What would you say to someone in the middle of the country, where I come from, where you come from, who is listening to us and maybe thinking, I really don't have a stake in this. I didn't go to Harvard. I'm not sending my kid to Harvard. I really don't like Harvard that much. This seems to be about a different kind of people. And Harvard deserves what they're getting.
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
Or in any case, it doesn't matter much to me. What would you say to somebody who has that attitude?
Up First from NPR
Harvard President says critics' "fire is misdirected"
When President Trump says, as he did this week, that Harvard's grants ought to go to trade schools instead, how do you respond to that?
Up First from NPR
New Gaza Aid Group Faces Criticism, Harvard President Speaks Out, DEI Rollbacks
Well, both the Harvard lawsuit and Alan Garber contend the administration is going after something bigger than just international students. Garber says he doesn't fully know the motives, but he does know some conservatives want to reshape elite higher education over issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Up First from NPR
New Gaza Aid Group Faces Criticism, Harvard President Speaks Out, DEI Rollbacks
In this case, Michelle, the Department of Homeland Security says it banned international students from Harvard because the school blatantly refused to demand to give information about them. Garber insists Harvard gave information and DHS lashed out anyway. And Harvard describes that as well as the cutoff in funding as an effort to gain power over a private school.
Up First from NPR
New Gaza Aid Group Faces Criticism, Harvard President Speaks Out, DEI Rollbacks
He accepts a lot of that criticism. The president himself is Jewish. He says some students felt shunned on campus if they didn't take what was seen as a proper view of Israel. He's trying to correct that.
Up First from NPR
New Gaza Aid Group Faces Criticism, Harvard President Speaks Out, DEI Rollbacks
He accepts some of it, said he wants to encourage, for example, freer debate on campus, and then he turned that idea to make a point of his own.
Up First from NPR
New Gaza Aid Group Faces Criticism, Harvard President Speaks Out, DEI Rollbacks
Harvard says eliminating foreign students would erase a quarter of the student body. Now, the court order means nothing happens for now, as you mentioned, but the university faces a very uncertain court battle. Steve, thanks. Glad to do it.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
Good morning. We're having a heated discussion in here, not really heated, about the apostrophe in its IT apostrophe S versus ITS.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
You were wrong. I'm sorry. The discussion is Layla's wrong. It sounds the same. Layla's rarely wrong.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
Yeah, I don't know if you've been following this. An email went out over the weekend supported by a post on social media by Elon Musk telling federal workers to reply with five things that they did last week. And Musk publicly saying, if you don't do this, we're going to count it as your resignation.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
A number of cabinet agencies told their employees to ignore this email or to reply to the management of the agency. Various things. And now the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management has issued guidance, clarification, although things are not that much clearer. Charles Azell wrote that the agency should, quote, review responses and evaluate non-responses.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
not explicitly saying that you should or shouldn't write the email. He added it's up to agency leaders to decide how to proceed.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
Well, administration people have quoted a survey finding that only 6% of federal workers are coming into work, but that turns out to be false. And it turns out the vast majority do show up for the office. and a limited number have hybrid schedules or work from home.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
The United States broke with allies at the UN, refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Is the U.S. burning its allies? Oh, my God. You did it a third time. I eliminated two of the apostrophes, and there's yet a third one. Oh, my gosh.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
Yeah, the United States opposed a resolution at the Security Council that demanded that Russia withdraw from Ukraine. American diplomats instead put forward a differently worded resolution that called for peace without blaming Russia for anything. Here's how U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea put it.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
And the Security Council did approve it with the United States, Russia, and China all voting yes. Britain and France abstained. The exact choice of words matters because what the Security Council approves carries the force of international law.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
No, I'm not. I'm sorry. That's terrible. The United States avoids blaming Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. U.S. allies differ at the U.N.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
President Trump has now put that money on hold, which leaves the river's big water users asking what's next.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadal, and this is Up First from NPR News. The Colorado River drought could get worse. The Trump administration put billions of dollars aimed at keeping the river flowing on hold.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
A once respected surgeon admitted to abusing hundreds of minors over decades, most of them while under anesthesia. The trial is set to last four months. Victims' advocates hope this will prompt a hard look at the failure of the system that should have prevented such abuse.
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
Okay, can the money be found elsewhere?
Up First from NPR
Federal Worker Email Confusion, UN On Ukraine, Colorado River, France Surgeon Trial
And I'm Steve Inskeep. If you'd like, make your next listen, consider this. The team behind NPR's All Things Considered goes deep into a single news story in 15 minutes. You can listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Good morning.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
NPR's Quill Lawrence is here to tell us more. Quill, good morning. Hey, good morning. So we'll note that you're reporting this story with our colleague Tom Bowman. What are you guys hearing? Yeah, a U.S.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Quill, that phrase disgruntled employees. I think Hank Seth used a similar phrase in his public remarks about this and referred to people who were fired in his office. What's he talking about?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
How you doing?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Pete Hicks has shared details of a forthcoming attack in a second group chat. Also, why did an official in his office quit and why were others fired?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
So I'm trying to figure out what all of this adds up to. The White House does appear to be backing Hegseth, but he's been revealed, NPR has confirmed, the original New York Times report, that there was a second chat group on Signal where he was sharing information about an impending attack.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Yeah, and I guess we should emphasize Hegseth's side has insisted no classified information was shared, leaning on how they define classified information. But it was information about an impending attack, which is always considered sensitive. Quill, thanks so much. Thank you, Steve. That's NPR's Quill Lawrence.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
And since we mentioned Signal, we will also mention that NPR's CEO chairs the board of the nonprofit Signal Foundation, which we cover like any other entity. Church bells tolled from Notre Dame in Paris to the Philippines for the death of Pope Francis.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
NPR's Ruth Sherlock is in Rome. Hi there, Ruth. Hi, good morning. What are you hearing from people in St. Peter's Square?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
You're doing better when I have a little more coffee. Isn't that a good sound?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Yeah, it's been fascinating to reflect on how much he changed the tone of the church without changing the underlying rules of the church.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
And now we go on to the funeral and a selection. What are you hearing about the next few days?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Also, some parents seek the right to pick what their kids are exposed to in school.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
And then what about the conclave that comes after?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Yeah, it's a fascinating choice to be watching. NPR's Ruth Sherlock, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court considers a question about public schools.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg is covering this case. Hi, Nina. Hi there, Steve. So what are the basics of the case before the court?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
A Supreme Court case tests the power to opt out of some lessons. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. We are waiting to see how, if at all, President Trump addresses the leadership of the Defense Department.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Has the school board made any effort to accommodate that point of view?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
So we've heard the facts of this case. We've heard a little bit of the history. What happens when you take those facts and that history and put it before these particular nine justices?
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Nina, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
That's NPR's Nina Totenberg. Today, we're also following a lawsuit filed by Harvard University. The nation's wealthiest school is challenging President Trump's administration, which froze more than $2 billion in grants for research. The administration asserts that it wants to crack down on anti-Semitism.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
It made wide-ranging demands on Harvard, for example, learning the political views of students and professors and screening international students for those who are, quote, hostile to American values. Harvard argues there's no rational connection between anti-Semitism concerns that grew out of protests in the last couple of years and the scientific and technological research funds that were frozen.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
The university frames the government's demands as a threat to its independence. And that's a first for this Tuesday, April 22nd. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Oh, I was waiting for you to say.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
I was like, where else would they get it? That's the question I always have. Download the NPR app at 7-Eleven. Yeah, exactly. Download the NPR app at your corner store.
Up First from NPR
Defense Department Leak, Mourning Francis, SCOTUS Considers Opting Out
Today's Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Ryland Barton, Krishnadev Kalamar, Arzu Rezvani, and Jenea Williams. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, who has been supportive as long as I've ever been on this program. And our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
Good morning. We have two hosts in the same studio today. It's very exciting. We're behind in our work, though, because Layla and I were... We were trying to solve the world's problems. Thank you. That's a really nice, high-minded way to say it. We failed. Gossiping.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
NPR's Charles Maines has been covering all this from Moscow. Hey there, Charles. Morning, Steve. What did this call accomplish?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
So not really changing any of the demands that Putin has had since 2022. How did Ukraine respond?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
Okay, so hard to see what the progress is, but we do have France, Germany, and the UK, other players here, threatening more sanctions against Russia if Putin doesn't agree to an immediate ceasefire. How do they see all this?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
He'd been talking with Russia's Vladimir Putin, whose own statement suggested he's in no rush. What's the state of play?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
Charles, thanks very much for breaking that down. Really appreciate it. Thank you, Steve. NPR's Charles Maines in Moscow. Okay, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are now at an impasse.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
NPR's Daniel Estrin is gathering all the information he can in Tel Aviv. Hey there, Daniel. Hi, Steve. So what does Israel's offensive look like, as best you can determine?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
Okay, so this, interesting, that last detail. So this is the context in which three longtime allies of Israel, the UK, France, and Canada, are saying Israel should end all of this. How is Israel responding to that pressure?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
Well, why are ceasefire talks at an impasse?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
And NPR's Daniel Estrin is in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
Kentuckians are recovering from last weekend's tornadoes, and they might be in for more dangerous weather today, according to the National Weather Service. Much of southern Kentucky is at high risk for a significant tornado just days after a burst of storms killed more than two dozen people in that state, as well as in Missouri and Virginia.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
Also, we've had an active tornado season, which is now a normal tornado season.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
It's a question we pose from time to time, and NPR's Rebecca Herscher is here to talk through the evidence. Good morning. Good morning. First, has this been a particularly bad spring for tornadoes?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
Okay. So is this just a bad year, or is there evidence that the frequency is increasing in a real way over time?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
Oh, this is interesting. And this is a thing that people have said about climate change, that you end up with more extreme weather events. So not more tornadoes total, but more of these clusters of tornadoes.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
What evidence, if any, shows a link to climate change? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. President Trump spoke with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin for more than two hours on Monday about ending the war in Ukraine, and then Trump gave an account of the call.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
I appreciate that last detail. It is the National Weather Service acknowledging this in a statement. So let's try to figure out what's going on. We understand that climate change can lead to more extreme weather events. We have these more extreme weather events. But can we be a little more precise about the mechanics? Do scientists understand why big outbreaks of tornadoes are getting more common?
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
And that's Up First for this Tuesday, May 20th. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
How do you hear it if it's in your pocket? Anyway, today's episode of Up First was... Headphones. Oh, thank you. Thanks for the reminder. Bluetooth. There we go. Today's Up First was edited by Neela Banerjee, Rylan Barton, Carrie Kahn, Ali Schweitzer, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Ben Abrams, and Christopher Thomas.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Talk With Putin, Israel's Incursion, Weather Service Budget Cuts
We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Here is how the day unfolded at a Wisconsin school.
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
Business leaders have been making their way there, tech CEOs, pharma CEOs, and yesterday the CEO of a Japanese investment bank promising to spend $100 billion in the United States. The president-elect talked about this at his first news conference since the election.
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
In truth, some people wanted to be his friend last time, but there is a difference. People who don't like this say wealthy people are bending the knee, but how do the executives see it?
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
At school, what do police know about the student who opened fire, killing two people and then herself?
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
Pastor Marcus Allen worked to comfort the crowd with prayer.
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
Police say a teenager opened fire at that school yesterday, killing two people and then herself. Six others are wounded.
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
We can reveal this morning what doctors have done for the first time to save people who need organ transplants.
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
Pig kidney, human being. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein was in the operating room during the procedure, the only journalist in there. Hi there, Rob. Hey, Steve. Wow, what an experience. What was it like?
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
This is blowing my mind because you're telling me, Rob, not just that people are using a pig kidney because human organs are in short supply, which they are. They're using a pig kidney because they think in this case it is the best choice, better than a human organ for this person. So how did this operation come together?
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
I especially like the applause there, Rob. So what happens now?
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
Well, thanks for your eyewitness account, Rob. Really appreciate it.
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
NPR Health correspondent Rob Stein. And that's up first for Tuesday, December 17th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Steve Inskeep. There's an easy way to stay connected to news and podcasts from the NPR network. It's the NPR app. You hear community coverage from your local station. Remember, public media are in just about every community in this country.
Up First from NPR
Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant
So you hear community coverage from your station along with stories from across the nation and around the world and podcast suggestions based on what you like. Download the NPR app in your app store.
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Hey, this is Steve Inskeep. We have some news for you as it looks at 6.17 in the morning Eastern Time. We have news not quite final of a ceasefire in the Middle East. A senior official speaking anonymously to our colleague Kat Lonsdorf in Tel Aviv says that Israel and Hamas and other negotiators are very, very close to a ceasefire agreement that could unroll over the next few weeks.
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Special Counsel Jack Smith will not record a criminal conviction against President-elect Trump. He will leave his conclusions for the history books.
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
NPR's Kerry Johnson joins us now after a very late night and early morning on this story. Kerry, good morning. Good morning, Steve. What does it matter that Jack Smith's report would be public now, given that he's not going to prosecute?
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Because the final report was being argued over, the release of the report was being argued over in court, I had my doubts as to whether we would see it before January 20th, Inauguration Day. How did that work out?
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
This involves a cease to shooting in Gaza for six weeks, the release of some but not all Israeli hostages, as well as the release of some Palestinians. That's our understanding. A little bit after 6 o'clock Eastern time. You can stay tuned to NPR News for the latest on this. And now here's the rest of today's news.
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
In the end, she did not block it. And so last night you get these 150 pages. What stands out for you?
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
And it is interesting, given that Trump and his supporters have characterized Smith very negatively, that Smith is saying, no, actually, we set an example. We were doing the right thing here. That is his case. Is that the last word from him?
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
And there might be questions about those investigations, promised investigations and confirmation hearings to come. Carrie, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
NPR's Carrie Johnson. The physical devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires is plain.
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
NPR's Katia Riddle is in Los Angeles. Katia, good morning.
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
How do you see this aspect of the story?
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Okay, mental health strategies. What do you do?
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Jack Smith's report is now public. He writes that only the election prevented him from holding a trial on a case he would have won.
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
And some are going to need that support while they're trying to deal with a home that was destroyed, rebuilding a neighborhood that has changed beyond recognition. Which makes me wonder, Katie, as you're talking, are we thinking in terms here of post-traumatic stress?
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
NPR's Katie Riddle in Los Angeles, take care of yourself, okay?
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Today, President-elect Trump's choice to lead the U.S. military gets a public hearing.
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman is covering this story. Tom, good morning.
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
What are the questions about Hegseth?
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Isn't that part about management the essence of the job here? Because this is an assignment running one of the largest and most complex organizations in the history of the world.
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
What he does seem to have, though, is opinions that match those of the president-elect on diversity, equity and inclusion.
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Listening to those numbers, Tom, tells me something. People will point out that on average, men are bigger and stronger than women. But some women are big and strong, and you're telling me there is a limited number of women, not 50-50, but a limited number of women who meet the standards.
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
NPR's Tom Bowman will be listening to your coverage of the hearing. Thanks so much. Thanks. And that's a first for this Tuesday, January 14th, which just happens to be the 20th birthday. of my daughter, who's a listener to this podcast.
Up First from NPR
Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Today, Today's birthday episode of Up First was edited by Emily Kopp, Diane Weber, Eric Whitney, Anna Yukonanoff, Ali Schweitzer, and Lisa Thompson. It was produced by Ziad Bach, Nia Dumas, Iman Maani, and Lily Quiroz. We get engineering support from David Greenberg, and our technical director is Stacey Abbott. You don't hear a thing unless she does her job, which she always does very well.
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Election Interference Report Goes Public, Wildfires and Mental Health, Pete Hegseth
Join us tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Ukraine struck Russia today. It was the biggest ever drone attack on Moscow. According to Russian officials, the drone strikes hit a warehouse, killed and injured people, and briefly shut down the airports. It was a sign that Ukraine still has some striking power, even though it has lost some vital American support. Today, U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators meet to discuss that and much more.
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
NPR Ukraine correspondent Joanna Kakisis is covering all this from Kiev. Hi there, Joanna. Good morning. Let's just remember the backdrop here. Ukrainians and Americans met at the White House. Last time they met, it was Volodymyr Zelensky who argued with Trump and Vance, President Trump and Vice President Vance, and they then berated him. So what does Ukraine hope for this time?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Okay, so they have no choice but to come back to the table. Here they are. President Trump spoke with reporters over the weekend, and he said of Ukrainians, quote, I want them to want peace, although it is not clear at all what more the president wants than they have offered. So what's on the agenda for this meeting?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
So just a reminder, at this point, we're only talking about concessions by Ukraine. So what sort of concessions might the Ukrainians be willing to make?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
I guess the Ukrainians want to persuade the Trump administration that a peace deal isn't going to last if it's too easy on Russia. Is that it?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Also, the Department of Education, not yet abolished, is telling 60 universities they may face penalties. The department describes last year's protests over Gaza as, quote, relentless anti-Semitic eruptions. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
NPR's Joanna Kikisis, always strong. Thanks so much.
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
President Trump's tariffs and his remarks about a recession led to the worst day for the stock markets this year.
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
And NPR financial correspondent Maria Aspin is following all of this. Good morning. Good morning. Okay, so why was there such a big drop yesterday?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
I guess we should just state the reality. There's always a chance of a recession. You would hope it would be in the future, but you don't know. I'm also thinking about the narrative that you lay out there, Maria, and it's not solely the threat of Trump's, but also the unpredictability. They're on, they're off, they're sideways. You just don't know. So how concerned should investors be?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
I noticed that some stocks are doing worse than others. The tech-heavy Nasdaq had its worst day in years. Is something else going on in the economy we should worry about?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
And Maria Aspin, thanks for your insights. Really appreciate it.
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Some other news now. A federal judge in New York ordered the government not to deport a college protest leader who was arrested by immigration officers over the weekend.
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
NPR's Ryland Barton has been following the story and joins us now. Good morning.
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
I'm just getting my brain around the idea that he was taken out of New York and taken all the way to Louisiana. So what all's going on here?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Since you brought up the First Amendment, what does the law say about how that applies specifically to a green card holder? And how does all that match up with the facts of this case?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
How does this fit with the larger policies of the administration? The U.S. Education Department, I know, is telling dozens of universities they're under investigation for anti-Semitism as the administration sees it.
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Which paused its aid. So what does the U.S. want from Ukraine? What are the Ukrainians able to offer?
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
NPR's Ryland Barton, thanks so much.
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
And that's a first for this Tuesday, March 11th.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Today's Up First was edited by Kevin Drew, Rafael Nam, Ryland Barton, Alice Wolfley, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hainas, and our technical director is Stacey Abbott. Join us tomorrow.
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Now, the trade war with Mexico and Canada is paused for now after the president made threats that jolted relations with a close U.S. ally. So how does all this look recently? From Canada, NPR international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam is in Ottawa. Jackie, good morning. Good morning, Steve. So how did the United States and Canada at least put off a confrontation?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Yeah, I am thinking the Canadians made new measures at their border before the threat of tariffs. Now they've made even more apparently or promised something and still the threat of tariffs hangs over them for 30 days. How are people responding?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Yeah, which I think people took as a joke when Trump first said that. But he keeps saying it again and again and again. So how do the two countries move forward?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
NPR's Jackie Northam, thanks so much for your work.
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Okay, some changes that are underway at the U.S. Department of Education with bigger potential moves on the horizon.
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Torrey, good morning. Corey, good morning. Good morning, Steve.
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Anyway, Corey, good morning by your proper name. What do you know about this executive action?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Also, NPR has details of President Trump's plans for the Department of Education. Closing a cabinet department requires an act of Congress, so he will ask for one. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Unless, of course, you operate within the rule of law and go to Congress and ask them to reconsider that. So what are the responsibilities that could be targeted by executive action?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Although that's the system. That's checks and balances. That's the Constitution. So what you're saying is we expect an executive order that really is just a statement asking Congress to do what the president asks, which is the way the Constitution works. At the same time, you're reporting that some education department staff are being placed on leave. What's going on?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Okay. NPR's Corey Turner will continue listening for your reporting on that. Thanks very much.
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
And we have an update on the actions of the Department of Government Efficiency.
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
NPR's Bobby Allen has covered Musk for years. Bobby, good morning. Good morning. Well, just remember, Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, what have they done so far?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
We hear about things happening, and we're not exactly sure what the purpose is from the outside. How are people responding to this?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Which means that he does have some formal government role, I guess. What is a special government employee?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
We felt betrayed. At the last moment, the U.S. paused its trade war. How's all this look from the U.S. ally to the North?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Well, this raises a question. If Congress is not going to jump up immediately and if the White House says it's on board, are people who object in some way likely to take this to court?
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
I'm thinking about some of the things Doge has done. There were actions over the weekend against the U.S. Agency for International Development. Musk acted as if he was shutting down the agency, which is arguably illegal, but it seems instead just to have been folded under...
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Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who talks of continuing some foreign aid and just reforming the agency, which a lot of people would like. Is it possible this agency is less radical than it seems?
Up First from NPR
Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
And that's a first for this Tuesday, February 4th. There's an exclamation point written down here. So I'm fourth. It's February 4th. Let the fourth be with you. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
Today's episode of Up First on February 4th was edited by Tara Neal, Brett Neely, Stephen Drummond, Jenea Williams, and Alice Wolfley. Produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Carly Strange, who also deserves an exclamation point, in my opinion. Join us again tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Canada Tariffs, Education Department Targeted, DOGE
New U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods went into effect today, and China has already retaliated.
Up First from NPR
D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
's closest airport. A jet was on its way into Reagan National Airport, and 64 people were on board. The plane followed the path of the Potomac, an experience millions of travelers have had at some point. If you have a window seat, you can see the monuments of the Capitol below, and you know you're almost there.
Up First from NPR
D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. The president says he plans to use the naval base at Guantanamo Bay to house people deported from the United States.
Up First from NPR
D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
And that is when the plane collided with one of the many other aircraft in the skies over Washington, an Army helicopter carrying three people.
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D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
A passenger jet collided with a military helicopter in the skies over Washington, D.C. Rescuers are searching the icy Potomac River for survivors.
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D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
Okay, are the facilities at Guantanamo equipped to hold tens of thousands of people?
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D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
The president brought this up at a bill signing event. His notion was to detain what he called, quote, the worst criminal illegal aliens. Reusing the famous base is an idea that Trump brought up before his first presidential term, but he never did it. His Homeland Security Secretary acknowledges the administration would need an act of Congress to spend money on the idea now.
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D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
Yeah, the president gave blanket clemency to all January 6th defendants, regardless of whether they violently assaulted police on that day. People got clemency for January 6th even when they had criminal records for other offenses on other dates, such as rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence.
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D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
Now, after that memo was taken back, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt posted some more on social media. She said, quote, the president's executive orders on federal funding remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented. The president had previously said he wants government agencies to eliminate diversity, equity, inclusion and other efforts he opposes.
Up First from NPR
D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
So apparently that part goes ahead. We will bring you more as we learn it. And that's up first for Thursday, January 30th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Steve Inskeep. There's an easy way to stay connected to news and podcasts from the NPR network. It is the NPR app, which I use myself.
Up First from NPR
D.C. Plane Crash, Migrant Housing At Guantanamo, January 6th Criminal Records
You hear community coverage from your local station, as well as stories from around the world and podcast suggestions based on what you like. Download the NPR app in your app store.
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
I finally got a good night's sleep.
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
Trump is pressuring the Ukrainian to submit to peace talks that so far have not included Ukraine. The U.S. also pressed Zelensky to sign an agreement that would share Ukraine's mineral rights with the United States. Zelensky has said Ukraine needs to be included in any negotiations, and it's in this context that the American president made a stream of remarks about the Ukrainian leader.
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
Good morning, Michelle.
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
You crash.
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
Exactly.
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
Works every time. Well. I get that. Not quite every time. President Trump is pressuring Ukraine's president with personal attacks.
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
Well, I mean, it wasn't enough hours.
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
That is the cost cutting effort championed by Elon Musk and President Trump. Musk made a stream of claims on social media in recent weeks about big savings. A Doge website kept promising receipts. And this week, the website published some, but those receipts add up to far less in savings than claimed.
Up First from NPR
Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency claims to have trimmed billions of dollars from the federal budget.
Up First from NPR
Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
They will undergo forensic testing in Israel to confirm their identity. This is the first time that Hamas has released the bodies of hostages under the current ceasefire.
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
Our correspondent added up the receipts and found a different number. What's the real bottom line?
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Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
No, I slept. I slept. Well, what you do is you sleep badly for several nights in a row. Uh-huh. And then you're so tired.
Up First from NPR
Trump and Zelenskyy Feud, DOGE Savings Claims, Hamas Releases Four Hostage Bodies
I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Steve Henskeep. Listen, make your next listen, consider this, or at least consider it. The team behind NPR's All Things Considered goes deep into a single news story and gets you deep in 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Supreme Court Hears TikTok Case, Syrians Return Home, French Rape Trial Verdicts
TikTok and the Department of Justice are heading to the Supreme Court. The court accepted TikTok's request to hear arguments about a law that could ban the viral video app next month. The court's chosen timing matters here as much as the decision to hear the case.
Up First from NPR
Supreme Court Hears TikTok Case, Syrians Return Home, French Rape Trial Verdicts
I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News.
Up First from NPR
Supreme Court Hears TikTok Case, Syrians Return Home, French Rape Trial Verdicts
The justices often move deliberately and take many months, but they chose in this case to move quickly, scheduling an argument for TikTok within three weeks on January 10th.
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Supreme Court Hears TikTok Case, Syrians Return Home, French Rape Trial Verdicts
Also, judges delivered verdicts in a French rape case that shocked many people around the world. The victim has become a feminist hero, but will the trial make a difference for others? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Supreme Court Hears TikTok Case, Syrians Return Home, French Rape Trial Verdicts
For one thing, people can move. Refugees are coming home. Syrians who were stuck on one side or another in the many battle lines can cross them for the first time in years. And journalists can get a fuller look at a country in transition.
Up First from NPR
Supreme Court Hears TikTok Case, Syrians Return Home, French Rape Trial Verdicts
51 men were on trial for raping a woman while she was drugged and unconscious over a period of years. Her husband was accused of orchestrating this abuse. The trial has shocked France and drawn the world's attention.
Up First from NPR
Supreme Court Hears TikTok Case, Syrians Return Home, French Rape Trial Verdicts
And I'm Steve Inskeep. There's an easy way to stay connected to news and podcasts from the NPR network. It is the NPR app. You hear community coverage from your local station because this is a network of local stations in communities across this country. You also hear stories from around the world and podcast suggestions from based on what you like. Download the NPR app in your app store.
Up First from NPR
Syria's Relationship With Israel, Birthright Citizenship, Trump's Big Bill
I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees citizenship to people born in the United States. Both the Supreme Court and Congress have affirmed that. So why is the issue back at the high court?
Up First from NPR
Syria's Relationship With Israel, Birthright Citizenship, Trump's Big Bill
He received a standing ovation from a crowd in Saudi Arabia when he vowed to lift U.S. sanctions against Syria. And he had compliments for that country's new leader, which he shared with reporters on Air Force One.
Up First from NPR
Syria's Relationship With Israel, Birthright Citizenship, Trump's Big Bill
Syrians celebrated the lifting of sanctions on the streets of Damascus, although all of this is causing some confusion in Syria's neighbor Israel, which was Syria's enemy for decades. What does all this mean for a close U.S. ally?
Up First from NPR
Syria's Relationship With Israel, Birthright Citizenship, Trump's Big Bill
On his trip through the Middle East, President Trump takes a friendly approach to the new ruler of Syria.
Up First from NPR
Syria's Relationship With Israel, Birthright Citizenship, Trump's Big Bill
The Constitution's 14th Amendment says, in part, all persons born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States. The Trump administration sought to overturn that language and lost in lower courts. The justices chose to hear the administration's appeal.
Up First from NPR
Syria's Relationship With Israel, Birthright Citizenship, Trump's Big Bill
That bill is advancing through the House this week, and it turns out its beauty is in the eye of the beholder. House Speaker Mike Johnson wants the bill passed by Memorial Day, but is still contending with tensions within his own party.
Up First from NPR
Syria's Relationship With Israel, Birthright Citizenship, Trump's Big Bill
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Make your next listen, Consider This from NPR. Up First covers three big stories of the day. Consider This drills down on one. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. shooting an insurance executive in the back produced a disturbing response, and that includes real-life conversations about health care. So our correspondent pursues a question. Why do we spend so much on health care for a life expectancy that is comparatively low?
Up First from NPR
FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
Which, of course, Trump's critics fear. That's exactly what Trump wants to change with this new appointee. What has Trump said about Ray's decision?
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FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
What does a change at the top mean for the FBI?
Up First from NPR
FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
Got it. Okay. So now the confirmation fight is over Kash Patel, the nominee to replace Wray. What are his prospects?
Up First from NPR
FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
And Pierre's Ryan Lucas will be covering it, whatever happens. Good to see you.
Up First from NPR
FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
Yeah, even disturbing celebrations. Now, since suspect Luigi Mangione's arrest, some attention has turned to a handwritten note that police say they found on him. According to the AP, which obtained a copy, the note talked about the disconnect between the expensive health care system and low life expectancy in the United States.
Up First from NPR
FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
Yeah, the party lost control of the White House and the Senate and failed to retake control of the House of Representatives. They're also out of power in most states. Over the next two days, top DNC members will meet in Washington to discuss rules for picking new leadership and reflect on 2024.
Up First from NPR
FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
We now know how the FBI director will respond to the president-elect who wants to replace him.
Up First from NPR
FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Do you use the NPR app? It lets you keep public radio in your pocket. You find a mix of local, national, and international news, plus the best podcasts from the NPR network. You download that app on your phone. You can listen to NPR anywhere. You can get stories to read as well. You can download the NPR app at your app store.
Up First from NPR
FBI Director Wray To Step Down, U.S. Life Expectancy, DNC Seeks New Leadership
NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas is covering this story, and he's come by our studios very early this morning. Ryan, good to see you.
Up First from NPR
India And Pakistan Latest, Libya Deportations, The Fed And Interest Rates
This morning, residents in Pakistan's second largest city of Lahore were hearing explosions. Pakistan's military spokesman, Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif, says Pakistan shot down Indian drones, which he says were flying over major cities.
Up First from NPR
India And Pakistan Latest, Libya Deportations, The Fed And Interest Rates
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fathom, and this is Up First from NPR News. President Trump's administration plans to send migrants removed from the United States to Libya. The U.S. has deportation deals already with Mexico and El Salvador, so why another?
Up First from NPR
India And Pakistan Latest, Libya Deportations, The Fed And Interest Rates
This is a serious, serious provocation. Let's remember here, India launched multiple strikes against Pakistan on Tuesday. These were considered the most extensive attacks that India has carried out in more than 50 years. India says it was responding to terror attacks last month that were launched out of Pakistani territory.
Up First from NPR
India And Pakistan Latest, Libya Deportations, The Fed And Interest Rates
Pakistan says it shot down drones over some of its major cities. It's the aftermath of Indian airstrikes.
Up First from NPR
India And Pakistan Latest, Libya Deportations, The Fed And Interest Rates
Libya. U.S. officials have spent the last few months negotiating with various countries to see who is willing to take in people deported from the United States.
Up First from NPR
India And Pakistan Latest, Libya Deportations, The Fed And Interest Rates
Policymakers at the Federal Reserve voted to hold short-term interest rates steady for now. That's how powerful they are. They make news even when they do nothing, which is what they chose to do here while they wait to see how President Trump's trade war plays out in the U.S. economy.
Up First from NPR
India And Pakistan Latest, Libya Deportations, The Fed And Interest Rates
Good morning, Layla.
Up First from NPR
India And Pakistan Latest, Libya Deportations, The Fed And Interest Rates
And that's Up First for Thursday, May 8th. I'm Leila Faldin. And I'm Steve Inskeep. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR News. Up First gives you three big stories of the day. Consider This dives deep on one. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. The auto industry gets a reprieve. President Trump pauses new tariffs on cars made in Canada and Mexico. U.S. automakers lobbied hard because their car parts cross both borders.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
Europe aims to increase defense spending after the U.S. withholds military aid from Ukraine.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
The president's latest sudden shift is only for carmakers. They are a huge source of cross-border business. It is common for parts to cross the border several times as American-made cars are assembled. U.S. automakers warned the tariffs would raise the price of their cars by thousands of dollars.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
An independent federal board ordered them reinstated for 45 days while its investigation into the firings continues.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
And I'm Steve Inskeep. For your next listen, consider Consider This from NPR News. Up first gives you three big stories of the day. And Consider This dives into a single news story and what it means to you. Learn about a big story of the day in less than 15 minutes. And you can listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
EU Leaders On Ukraine, Auto Tariffs Paused, USDA Workers Return
They're aiming to protect against Russia and do it with less help from the United States. The U.S., to be clear, remains part of the NATO alliance with troops based in Germany. But in recent days, the U.S. paused military supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, bidding to force a peace with Russia.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
good morning to you you said good morning a martinez didn't say good morning he's too good for me oh morning no no i say hello because you don't want to presume it is a good morning for you or me do you say hola if you're speaking in spanish hola hello you don't say buenos dias um buenos dias i've had a turn on that one because it's like how dare you tell me to have a good day
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
That is the phrase the Trump administration put into an email telling federal workers they can stay or go. Their unions have said it's not really much of a decision, asserting that the offer that looks like a buyout really isn't.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
You don't want to presume to instruct other people to be happy.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Let's hear what some Palestinians think about the president who mused about their future.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Which is where we found NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in the city of Ramallah. Welcome back. Hey, good morning. What are you hearing on the West Bank?
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
And of course, the conflict over the land is central to the area where you are. You're outside of Gaza. You're in a much larger land area, the West Bank. You have millions of Palestinians there. You have Israelis who have founded settlements there and taken control of large parts of the West Bank. So what are people thinking and what is actually going on on the ground in the West Bank?
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Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Well, let's talk about that because Trump mentioned the West Bank as well when he did. dropped this surprise proposal for the United States to own Gaza, which the administration has walked back to some extent since. He also said that in the next few weeks, he'd be saying something about the West Bank. People must be wondering what that something is going to be.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
So says an employee at the Labor Department. What's the administration's next move?
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in the occupied West Bank. Thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Let's get a picture of what the United States is no longer doing as the administration tries to shut down a foreign aid agency.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
And Piers, Gabrielle Emanuel covers global health and has some facts to put all this in context. Good morning.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Okay, so when we say the U.S. has been the largest donor of foreign aid, how much are we talking about?
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Okay, so we certainly spend more on other things, but it's $66 billion, which is a lot for foreign aid. What did that mean for certain places like, say, Ukraine, where the United States has paid so much attention?
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
figure out where the U.S. interest lies. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, listen, I want foreign aid to be in the U.S. national interest and not charity. At the same time, Rubio acknowledged sometimes foreign aid is in the U.S. national interest. So why does the United States traditionally provide this type of assistance?
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
I suppose we should pause to say that there are members of Congress who assert that all of this is illegal. Congress has devoted the funding to USAID and created this agency and that its work it's supposed to go ahead, but we are told that everybody at USAID has been told to come home. So how's this playing out on the ground?
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Also, how is the U.S. competing for influence in the world as the administration tries to shut down a foreign aid agency? The administration told workers for USAID they should all return from abroad.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Ah, trying to make sure it doesn't cross borders and you can see the U.S. national interest there, I suppose. NPR's Gabrielle Emanuel covers global health. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
And that's a first for this Thursday, February 6th.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Today's Up First was edited by Emily Kopp, Nishant Dehia, Rebecca Davis, Janaya Williams, and Ali Schweitzer. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Deadline For Federal Workers, Reaction To Trump's Gaza Plan, Future Of US Foreign Aid
Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
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Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
So this was shocking. Yesterday morning, just before 7 a.m., Brian Thompson was shot as he approached a hotel in Midtown Manhattan. And I have to say, a lot of companies use this place for big meetings. I've been there for these sorts of events many times. Police say this wasn't a random act of gun violence. The person who shot Thompson was waiting outside specifically for him.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
This is NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
Police released surveillance footage and pictures of the alleged gunman. He was wearing dark clothing and a mask, and he used a pistol that appeared to have a silencer. Police say the gunman was waiting on the sidewalk for Thompson and shot him several times from behind as he walked by.
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Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
So he was 50 years old. He lived outside Minneapolis with his wife and two kids, and he was a longtime executive at United Health Group. He joined that company two decades ago and worked his way up as the company grew bigger and more powerful. Three years ago, Thompson took over the unit called United Health Care, which is the largest health insurer in the United States.
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Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
It has tens of millions of customers, and it made almost $300 billion in revenue last year. But it's important to point out that as big as this insurance business is, it's just part of the larger UnitedHealth parent company, which isn't a household name necessarily, but it's one of the largest companies in the United States.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
It touches pretty much every part of the U.S. healthcare experience, Steve. Another big business it owns is Optum, which manages pharmacy benefits, or you might remember the Change Healthcare hack earlier this year. That's also owned by UnitedHealth. United is also the largest employer of doctors in the entire country. It said last year that it employs or is affiliated with 90,000 physicians.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
That's one out of every 10 doctors in the country. So with this size and scale, UnitedHealth has drawn a lot of criticism and scrutiny from consumers and regulators and lawmakers, sometimes over how it wields its power. Just last month, we saw the Justice Department file an antitrust lawsuit trying to block UnitedHealth from buying yet another business for $3 billion.
Up First from NPR
Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
Yes, health care executives receive a ton of threats. And part of that, Steve, as you said, is the general anger and frustration so many feel over health care in the United States. The country has the most expensive health care in the developed world and some of the worst health outcomes. And since UnitedHealth is the biggest health care company, it's a key part of that system.
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Trump's Defense Pick, United Healthcare CEO Killed, Mass Deportations And Jobs
So it gets blamed by a lot of people when the system doesn't work.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
We'll get up to date now on two incidents in two entertainment districts, an attack in New Orleans and an explosion in Las Vegas.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Let's go to Drew Hawkins once again of Gulf States Newsroom. He's in New Orleans. Welcome back, Drew.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
How does this event look after a day since you last spoke with us here?
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
What do police know about the suspect in the attack that killed 15 people on Bourbon Street? The ISIS flag was found in his vehicle. President Biden also said he was inspired by ISIS. So what's that mean? FBI investigators include counterterrorism experts and bomb techs.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
I'm just dwelling on the details you give us there. Possible co-conspirators, but we don't really know. The president says inspired by ISIS, which sounds more like an ideological connection. But of course, we don't know that. And we'll be getting in a moment to more details about the individual. What are city officials saying about how the driver got past police, though?
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New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
That question has got to be just one part of what's affecting the mood in New Orleans right now.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Tell me a little bit about the victims.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Okay. Drew Hawkins with Gulf States Newsroom in New Orleans. Thanks so much for your insights. Thanks, Steve. Now, the suspect was a native of Texas.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Lauren McGaughy with the Texas Newsroom has been working to learn more about him. Hi there, Lauren. Good morning. So what have you found out about this man's life up until the moment when he attacked in New Orleans?
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
This underlines some of the frustrations at moments like this. You can see this person's difficulty in life, shortage of money, divorce, business failures, but of course these are things that happen to lots of people who do not respond in this way. What about his military service?
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Where's the investigation go now?
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New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Lauren McGaughy of the Texas Newsroom bringing us the results of a team of reporters working on this. Thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Okay, now, investigators are looking for any possible connections between that attack in New Orleans and the New Year's Day explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in front of a Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
NPR's Frank Lankford is covering this story. Hi there, Frank. Hey, good morning, Steve. Can you work us through the best understanding of what happened?
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
What do police know about the man who was in that vehicle, the person who was in that vehicle?
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
So he's identifying dots, not yet connecting the dots, which seems prudent at this early stage. Do investigators know what made the truck explode?
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
On the Gulf Coast, they identified an attacker who was a veteran from Texas. In Nevada, the question is what made a Tesla Cybertruck explode outside a Trump Hotel.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Interesting. Now, is there anything concrete to connect this to the incident in New Orleans?
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
One other thing, what does Elon Musk say?
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Okay, NPR's Frank Langfitt, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
And that's up first for this Thursday, January 2nd, 2025. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Attack, Suspect's Texas Home, Las Vegas Truck Explosion
Today's Up First was edited by Susanna Capilouto, Gigi Dubon, Jan Johnson, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Katie Klein, Nia Dumas, and Julie Deppenbrock. Engineering support comes from Nisha Hynes. Our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
There's going to be a confrontation. I think the convergence, particularly of spending cuts and the simultaneously constitutional crisis that we're hurtling to is going to make this summer a summer like no other.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
Zelensky knows that the American money is cut off. You're not going to have American troops. The Europeans talk big but never deliver. And so you're going to see some sort of winding down of that war on the new reality on the Eurasian landmass. Once you get off of having to have standing military forces,
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
And all these four nodes around the Eurasian landmass, you have a complete ability to cut the defense budget, I don't know, three, four hundred billion dollars?
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
What is supposed to come after? I think it's back to the Treaty of Westphalia. You have strong, independent nations, right, with the United States looking to itself first and its citizens first with the understanding is if America's strong, healthy, and prosperous, the world can be at peace.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
The post-war international rules-based order shifted the weight to too many international organizations and away from the focus of the American people. Steve Bannon, it's a pleasure talking with you. Thank you.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
We've got to start making things again. The high value added part of manufacturing has to come back. Something that a man or a woman can have a job and have a family and have their spouse stay home if they so want and raise their kids. Once we're back to that, the country is going to be vibrant and robust again.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
It's a revolution about America's role in the world. our position geopolitically, the global commercial relationships, plus the administrative state and how the countries govern. He's so much farther down the path and so much more aggressive than I think anybody would ever thought.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
First off, I do think – and I've had tremendous disagreements with Elon Musk. I do believe you had to have a trauma-inducing force like Doge to kind of rattle the administrative state. I think they really served a purpose. Now, to the degree that they find actual trillion dollars, which I was always skeptical about, in waste and fraud, but there will be something.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
I've actually called for an audit of that. Number two, there also has to be a certification that no data or data sets of American citizens have gone anywhere except to the Trump administration and or the U.S. government. You have doubts? Trust but verify.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
Well, number one, I think we started a process with the nations of East Asia. You have Japan, you have South Korea, you have Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, and now India also. All in discussions around a basic architecture that kind of stacked up for Besson to get these deals done, or at least to get the architecture of it done, not the actual finished deals.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
Well, but you do have, I think this week, they're talking about maybe two or three memorandums of understanding on the architecture of it. But President Trump went in full force. He's got his own negotiating style. I think he's been quite smart about how to do this. He's obviously wants to make sure that the store shelves are not totally empty.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
I mean, as of yesterday, we have a full embargo on Chinese goods.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
Some of that's starting to come through as we alleviate somewhat. Does he look weak by changing all the time? I don't think he looks weak.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
I give him a list of 200 faculty members and 200 administrators. We're cutting off all federal money. All federal money until they're gone. Once they're gone, we'll start bleeding it back in. And oh, by the way, all 350,000 Chinese nationals, students that are here in the country, got to leave immediately.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
It bothers me that a court—we never had— there's no way in the Constitution it talks about judicial supremacy. Nowhere in the Constitution talks about judicial supremacy. What you're seeing is a court trying to step between President Trump and his – Isn't it just a court checking it against the law to say that's illegal, not legal? his role as commander-in-chief.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
This happened before in our country. It's happened a couple times. A guy named Abraham Lincoln.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
If every one of these criminal terrorists have due process that's 200 years before they get out, it's not going to happen. It's just not going to happen. The American people back Trump on this, and they have to go, and they're going to go.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
It would take too much time for millions of people. The convenience thing is one, but it's just you don't need it. It's not necessary. It's time of war, and they're going to leave. Let me ask you about another thing, though.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
Well, it's not just on his say-so. He did execute emergency powers to do this given the emergency that's there both on fentanyl And on the national security aspect.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
No, he gave backup document to him on the fentanyl issue. Canada? The deficits alone. The trade deficit's $25 trillion, brother.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
And that's not a bookkeeping thing that the Wall Street guys say. That's resources that went to us, to other countries, 18 trading to China.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
He's called for emergency measures. If Congress had been doing its job on trade and tariffs over the last – let me just guess. I don't know. since they allowed China to come in as a World Trade Organization, they would have some backup from people saying, yeah, you know, we should get Congress in here because they've done such a great job. What has Congress done?
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
The House and Senate have rolled over to the globalists for 30 or 40 years. Pardon me if I don't take their concerns when somebody steps up and says, hey, look, I'm going to put America and I'm going to put American citizens first.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
No, the last one, we are very proud that we turfed out this show as the leader in turfing out McCarthy. Johnson, I think, may actually be worse because I think he's tapped along the president. Everything I've seen coming from this conference so far, about the big, beautiful deal looks like fiscal insanity.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
OK, it's Monday, 28 April, Year of Alert 2025.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
Bannon has understood the MAGA voter better than basically anybody on the right.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
No, I don't think so, and here's why. And I'm glad you brought up the Mandarin language and the Chinese. That was replete with Chinese agents and had to be broomed anyway. And I think you're going to see a major investigation into Voice of America, the Mandarin language thing. They're the ones that cut Miles Guo off first time ever in a live interview. This is a dissident to Chinese.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
A Chinese billionaire. He was giving a live interview on…
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
They actually came to my office in the White House and said, hey, just pulled some dissidents interview live.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
The language that he uses, the policy positions that he takes are kind of a window into where the Republican Party is going.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
I think what President Trump is going to do and Carrie Lake and others, Brent Boesel, is take the whole thing down to its statutory deck plates and then rebuild it. But the Voice of America had not been pitching the American story of American exceptionalism and American entrepreneurism. It had become a totally politicized story. wing of really the progressive left, and it had to go.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
I mean, the criticisms it made of President Trump were outrageous, just outrageous. So it had to go.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
And geopolitically. Right now, you have the post-war liberal rules-based order. And if you go around the Eurasian landmass, it is a replica of the Second World War.
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Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
And what you see in the post-war era is to have a containment policy from NATO and Western Europe to the Gulf Emirates in Israel, to the South China Sea and the Straits of Taiwan, up to Japan and Korea. Those four kind of nodes, you have commercial relationships codified by trade deals. We have capital markets, some cultural interaction. But it's American security guarantee.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
It's one of the reasons we have a trillion-dollar defense budget.
Up First from NPR
Steve Bannon on Trump's First 100 Days
What we're saying, what President Trump, I think, is saying by this hemispheric defense is that from Greenland to the Panama Canal, we will take care of the Russian Navy. The Russian army is kind of NATO's problem, U.S. problem, and we're there to help. But you're not going to see a massive amount of resources. And I think you see this in Ukraine and bringing the war to an end.
Up First from NPR
In Memoriam: Jimmy Carter, 1924-2024
He would campaign on the street corners, go to radio stations. Nobody knew who he was except that he was running for president. And he had friends from Georgia, they were called the Peanut Brigade, that went out and did this person-to-person type of campaigning for him.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
The interim U.S. attorney here in Washington, D.C., where we are, Ed Martin, has several times said he has reached out to specific Democratic lawmakers, such as Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, to ask for clarification about various remarks that he regarded as threatening. I'm interested if you or your fellow Democrats are at all feeling intimidated or silenced.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Do you think other Democrats are watching their words?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
How do they prepare?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Some Republican or many perhaps will be listening to this and thinking, wait a minute, actually, you're the ones who are prosecuting us. You are the guys who are weaponizing the Justice Department. How would you respond to somebody who may be thinking that?
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Democratic senator from New Jersey.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Convicted, yeah.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
It seems clear you would want to make a case then that this is a corrupt administration that's abusing power. Does the Democratic Party have some challenge in making that case, though, because of certain things that go on in the Democratic Party or even in your state of New York or your city of New York, where your mayor is Eric Adams?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Who was indicted until recently, just for starters.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Here's some of our conversation. If you had to pick one word, what is a word that describes the state of your party right now?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Is there another problem Democrats face because you would like government to work? And there's a broad perception, including among many liberals and progressives, that government doesn't work very well. It takes forever to build something in this country, to give a very obvious example.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
We do have a couple million federal workers, and a lot of people aren't sure how those people really touch their lives or do anything for them. Do you think government really isn't working well enough?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
The Democrat wants to find her party's way back into power. It's a special episode of Up First from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. Ocasio-Cortez wants to win back working class voters who supported President Trump in 2024, which leads to a question. To what extent is immigration as an issue part of your problem with working class voters?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Would you like a president to go in and break some china and mess things up, even if you don't like the way this president is trying to do that?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
It's not shocked or dismayed or anything like that at this moment?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Representative Ocasio-Cortez, thanks so much for coming by.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke with us in NPR Studio One here in Washington, D.C. You can watch the full interview on camera at the NPR app or on our website, npr.org, or on YouTube. This special episode of Up First was edited by Susan Davis, Kelsey Snell, and Reena Advani. It was produced by Adam Beirne.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Engineering support came from Neil T. Vault and Hannah Glovna, and our executive producer is Kelly Dickens. I'm Steve Inskeep. Thanks for joining us.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Just before we talk, the situation evolved a bit more. House Republicans approved a budget plan with hardly a vote to spare. Ocasio-Cortez joined every Democrat in voting no.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
She focused especially on one large number, $880 billion. That's the amount of savings that Republicans propose to find, much of it likely from Medicaid, which provides health care for millions. When asked this week, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson defended those cuts.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez challenged the Justice Department to say if she's under investigation.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
And he told reporters at the Capitol that the change would not affect care.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
In our conversation, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez essentially did disagree, casting doubt that cutting waste could save so much.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
The erosion of Democratic Party support among working class voters has been pretty well documented. It seems to cross racial and other lines. It's real. And Democrats have talked a lot about what they maybe did wrong and the way that they spoke or the way they approached people or the way that they acted. But I want to flip that around a little bit.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
What do you think President Trump has done right that has appealed to traditional Democratic constituencies?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
No tax on tips.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Some of those promises are things that Democrats themselves would like, capping interest rates on credit cards, to give one example. Has there been some discussion among Democrats that, I mean, you're almost a little envious he's gotten ahead of you on some of these issues?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
I think of another aspect of this, though. Dean Phillips, one of your fellow Democratic members, was on television this past week, Fox News as a matter of fact, and he appeared to wish Democrats acted a little more like Trump in this way. He wished that they would appeal to business people, to get smart people into government, to talk about efficiency.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Also, did Trump get ahead of Democrats on working class economic issues? And have Democrats lost ground because they're bad at governing? Stay with us. We'll put those questions and more to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
He seemed to wish Democrats would do what Elon Musk is doing, even if he doesn't agree with the way that Elon Musk is doing it.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Which is the thing that's in the news. It's being discussed.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was talking in NPR Studio One. We met with her at a moment when Democrats are out of power and trying to find their way back in. And we're reaching the point in our conversation where we asked about one of the most polarizing issues, immigration. Surveys suggest that President Biden's handling of that issue cost Democrats votes, even in some immigrant communities.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
So can Democrats push back against a president they see as lawless while also defending people in the country who lack legal status? Her answer comes right after this. It's a special edition of Up First. I'm Steve Inskeep. The first time I talked with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was June 27th, 2018.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
It was the morning after a primary election in New York when a leading House Democrat, Joe Crowley, lost his seat. On the radio the next morning, we heard Crowley singing in tribute to the woman who defeated him. Let's hear that moment from 2018. Born to run, as Springsteen fans will know. Crowley was singing for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She's 28 years old.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
She's a former organizer for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and she is on the line after an enormous upset. Good morning.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
And congratulations to you. Did you appreciate the song?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
But what do you think you offered the voters that Joe Crowley, with all of his experience, did not?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
That was Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. She was progressive, a Democratic socialist. And after her surprise win that got her into Congress, she sometimes backed efforts to unseat other leading Democrats. She was said to be a member of the squad, progressive women who confronted President Trump during his first term.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
And in 2019, Trump lashed out at them, as described back then by our correspondent Franco Ordonez.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
In fact, all four lawmakers had been born in the United States. The harshness of Trump's language and actions about immigration seemed to contribute to his unpopularity back in 2019. But in more recent years, the issue has changed. President Biden defeated Trump in 2020, undid some of Trump's immigration policies, and then seemed to lose the immigration debate.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Many voters saw the administration as far too lax toward migrants who lacked legal status. Biden finally cracked down, but was replaced by Trump, who promised mass deportations. And that led us to a question in our interview with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. To what extent is immigration as an issue part of your problem with working class voters?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
People voting for the other side and not for you, feeling that Democrats are not serious about the issue in ways that concern them.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Well, they do want to address undocumented people by removing them. I mean, that's what the president is attempting now.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
And deport them.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the Democratic Party's biggest stars. When she was first elected in 2018, she was very much an outsider, a social media phenomenon, often a critic of her party's programs and leaders. Now she's seen as more of an insider, a somewhat more senior figure, still a big star.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Why do you think this issue did seem to be a political loser for Democrats among key groups and key constituencies, if what you say is true?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
And you have voters in places like Arizona, which is a swing state that Democrats lost, or Colorado, which is generally a blue state, saying, there's a lot of chaos. There's a lot of lawlessness. I don't know what to do here. Who's looking out after me?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Since the election, many Democrats have said that they need a tougher approach to immigration. Ocasio-Cortez still argues that many people who are here without legal status should stay, and that led to a recent dispute with Tom Holman, the president's border czar. You held an online forum, a Know Your Rights forum, that he didn't like. What were you doing? What was your goal as you saw it?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Holman was upset, I suppose, because he felt that you were giving advice to people who were here illegally. Were you?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
He said he was going to report you, or even that he did reach out to the Department of Justice. Have you heard from the Department of Justice?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Really? What would your question be for the Department of Justice?
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
Now, after our interview, Ocasio-Cortez sent a letter to the Justice Department, which she shared with NPR. It asks Attorney General Pam Bondi if she has, quote, yielded to political pressure trying to weaponize the agency against elected officials whose speech they disagree with. We reached out to the Justice Department and they told us they received the letter.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
And so we brought her here to Studio One to ask what she thinks her party can do with its current dilemma. Democrats are out of power in Washington. They're watching President Trump enact his agenda. And they know the president has great appeal with a large part of their traditional base, the working class, people Ocasio-Cortez would feel that she would like to represent.
Up First from NPR
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She's Fighting President Trump's "Illusion of Power"
They say they also just received, quote, 29 violent cartel leaders who were recently extradited back to the United States. We are more focused on the latter, the Justice Department says, without directly addressing whether AOC is under investigation or not. Here's more of our interview with the New York Democrat.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
Okay, Layla, we've made it almost to the end of 2024. Thank God. Well, it was an interesting year. We had a presidential election. The Israel-Hamas War continued. Hurricane Helene. The Summer Olympics. Astonishing stories. A story you covered just in recent weeks that nobody seemed to see coming. The fall of Syria's ruler.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
We are expecting more than a week of events to remember the life of Jimmy Carter, who's died at the age of 100.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
Let's go back to the beginning of this 100-year story. NPR's Stephen Fowler is in Atlanta, one of the places where Carter will be remembered. Stephen, good morning.
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Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
He told people he would never lie to them and that he would never duck a controversial issue, but there certainly turned out to be plenty of controversy during his presidency.
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Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
There are historians in more recent times who've argued that his presidency was more successful than it seemed at the time. But the one thing that people seem to agree on now is his post-presidency, more than 40 years long.
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Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
And now we're going to spend more than a week remembering him. What are the funeral plans?
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
NPR Plus. Oh, NPR Plus. Sorry, go on.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
Stephen, thanks very much. Really appreciate it. Thank you. That's NPR's Stephen Fowler in Atlanta.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
This is fascinating. He told NPR's Hadil al-Shalchi that Syria wants to have cordial ties and wants the U.S. to help facilitate cordial ties. Syria and Israel, not something you hear every day from an Arab-led government, let alone one made up of rebels who once had ties to al-Qaeda. The shockwaves from that statement are reverberating through the region.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
South Korea has begun days of mourning after one of the worst aviation disasters in the country's history.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
NPR's Anthony Kuhn is at the scene of the disaster. Hey there, Anthony. Hey, Steve. What are you seeing?
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
Yeah, which always takes a long time with aviation disasters. What are you hearing from family members?
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
President Biden announced more than a week of events, including a state funeral.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
What else are you hearing from family members?
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
Amazing that two people survived. What information is available about the cause?
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
NPR's Anthony Kuhn, thanks for your reporting from the scene. Really appreciate it. Thank you, Steve. And that's Up First for this Monday, December 30th. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
Today's Up First was edited by Anna Yukonanoff, Andrew Sussman, Ryland Barton, Jan Johnson, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Katie Klein, Nia DeMoss, and Julie Deppenbrock. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Jimmy Carter Remembered, Syria-Israel Relations, South Korea Plane Crash
Also, a man talks of seeing off family members who boarded an airplane that crashed over the weekend. Our colleague Anthony Kuhn is at a South Korean airport where many families want answers. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Negotiators from the United States and Ukraine met in Saudi Arabia over the weekend to iron out a ceasefire deal with Russia. But as bombs keep falling on Kyiv, is a real truce even possible?
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
I think Bibi feels that he's doing the right thing. I think he goes up against public opinion because public opinion there wants those hostages home.
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
Ukraine's defense minister called these conversations productive. The Americans meet the Russians next. So far, both sides have agreed to stop targeting each other's energy infrastructure, although Ukraine's president says that is far from a genuine ceasefire.
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
Israel is making plans to occupy Gaza.
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
This is where China's second highest government official spoke this week. Li Chang addressed a big business forum here. There were a lot of international CEOs in the room, including Americans like Tim Cook of Apple, and they heard him suggest that China, not the U.S., is the stable country now, the country that plays by the rules, he said.
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
Now, the Chinese premier did not mention Donald Trump or tariffs, but did speak of rising instability in the world and called for open markets. Our colleague Anthony Kuhn is here in Beijing. He's a longtime China watcher. And Anthony, it's great to be face to face with you since we normally talk over thousands of miles on the line.
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
Thank you very much. Glad to be here. What is China doing with remarks like that about about the situation in the world?
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
Of course, when we talk with Americans who do business in China, we hear some skepticism about the idea that China is truly that open. They have their own issues with the Chinese market. But you mentioned preparations for a trade war. Is China doing other things to strengthen their economy itself? Yes.
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
Israel is considering a ground invasion to fully occupy the territory within a few months and establish Israeli military rule over Palestinians there. It's unclear whether these plans will actually be carried out. We do know that Israel resumed its war in Gaza, where Palestinians have updated their death count, saying it surpassed 50,000.
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
Now, you've done some reporting on trying to get private businesses a little more space in China. The government made an effort, I know, in recent weeks to pass a law that would assure the rights or at least the privileges of private businesses here. Is that opening for real? Is that effort for real?
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
You know, you've lived here, I want people to know, for decades, ever since the early 1980s, which was the beginning of China's opening to the world. You've moved away, but still been pretty nearby in Seoul. And now you're back for an extended visit. What sticks with you?
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
Okay. Anthony, it's a pleasure talking with you. Thank you so much. We'll continue listening for your reporting through the week.
Up First from NPR
Occupy Gaza Plan, Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, China Economy
And I'm Steve Inskeep. The NPR app lets you keep public radio in your pocket. You'll find a mix of local, national, and international news, plus the best podcasts from the NPR network, just by downloading the NPR app, which is in your app store, also in your pocket.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
We can expect this week of news to be dominated by the memory of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
Yes, we sure will. With us on the line from Rome is NPR international correspondent Ruth Sherlock. Ruth, the Pope had been unwell, but it seemed like he was making his way back, and then the announcement of his death seemingly very suddenly. What can you tell us?
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
Right. Tell us about that and who he met with.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
The Vatican says Pope Francis has died at the age of 88. He was one of the most popular pontiffs in decades and also a towering figure on the world stage. We will reflect on his legacy.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
Yeah, that sounds exactly like something he would say. What do we know about funeral plans for the Pope?
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
Pope Francis was the first non-European pope in more than a millennium. He set many precedents, the first Jesuit pope, the first pope to take the name of St. Francis of Assisi, and the first pope from the Global South. He also didn't shy away from speaking about LGBTQ plus issues, immigration, or the environment. which moments of his papacy stood out. Stay with us.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
That's NPR international correspondent Ruth Sherlock in Rome. Ruth, thank you very much.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
All right, let's bring in NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose. Now, Jason, you've covered Pope Francis for years. What were some of the moments of his papacy that most stick with you?
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
He was seen as a progressive in some ways.
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Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
To balance, though, his progressive stance as he also reaffirmed the all-male celibate priesthood and also upheld the church's abortion stance. So there was a balance there with Pope Francis. What do you think his legacy as pope will be here in the United States?
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
We'll get all the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
Popular around the world, what about quickly in the United States? Was he as well-liked in the U.S.?
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Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose. Jason, thank you. You're welcome. Now, a big part of the pope's appeal was his personal story.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
Let's go down to NPR's South America correspondent, Kerry Kahn. Kerry, tell us about Pope Francis before he was pope and his upbringing in Argentina.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
How is he likely to be remembered in Argentina?
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Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
Absolutely, absolutely. Now, what do you think the first Latin American pontiff means to the region more broadly?
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Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
That's NPR South America correspondent Carrie Conn. Carrie, thank you very much.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
And that's a first for Monday, April 21st. I'm E. Martinez.
Up First from NPR
Pope's Life And Legacy, What Happens Now In Rome, Reaction From South America
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Russell Lewis, James Dubek, Miguel Macias, Arzu Razvani, and Jenea Williams. It was produced by Ziad Bach, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Damian Herring, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Biden Cancer Diagnosis, Escalation In Gaza, Kentucky Storm Recovery
The news from his office comes as new attention is focused on Biden's decline while in office.
Up First from NPR
Biden Cancer Diagnosis, Escalation In Gaza, Kentucky Storm Recovery
I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadal, and this is Up First from NPR News. Israel has expanded its ground offensive in Gaza in an operation called Gideon's Chariots, forcing Palestinians to flee again. Why now amid ceasefire talks?
Up First from NPR
Biden Cancer Diagnosis, Escalation In Gaza, Kentucky Storm Recovery
President Biden once championed an effort to cut cancer deaths in half.
Up First from NPR
Biden Cancer Diagnosis, Escalation In Gaza, Kentucky Storm Recovery
And Palestinians are fleeing bombardment. They report more than 100 people were killed on Sunday, including women and children. The intensified war comes at the same time that Israel and Hamas are holding new ceasefire negotiations, and Israel says it will let some food and medicine back into Gaza after a blockade of almost three months.
Up First from NPR
Biden Cancer Diagnosis, Escalation In Gaza, Kentucky Storm Recovery
The storm leaves behind a few questions, including these. How will states manage the aftermath? And how much warning did people get after staff cuts at an office of the National Weather Service?
Up First from NPR
Biden Cancer Diagnosis, Escalation In Gaza, Kentucky Storm Recovery
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Thanks for waking up with NPR News. Your NPR station is what makes Up First possible each morning. You support their work, and when you do that, you also support ours. Go to donate.npr.org slash upfirst.
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
The fall of Syria's longtime president means different things to different people there.
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
Okay, Leila, let's follow up on this. Who would be concerned about life not improving or even getting worse after this regime is gone?
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
Well, since you raise it, let me ask if people did anything that they now need to be worried about. Did people in that Alawite sect lead a life of privilege under the old regime?
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
Okay, so he's against the old regime. He's still worried about being targeted by the new regime. Are people where you were being targeted?
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
Also, ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit with President-elect Trump. The network will donate millions to his presidential library, even though experts felt ABC had a strong legal defense. So why pay? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
Leila, thanks for all the subtleties. Really appreciate it.
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
Senior Biden administration officials have been in the region pushing the negotiations, which they say have been intense lately. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is just back from his latest trip to the Middle East.
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza continue with the Palestinian death toll climbing to nearly 45,000.
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
Why did ABC News settle a lawsuit with President-elect Trump? The TV network is making a $15 million donation to Trump's future presidential library and also posting a statement of regret. That is the settlement over remarks by anchor George Stephanopoulos during an interview.
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Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
The settlement comes just as an incoming administration talks of using the power of government and the legal system to penalize news coverage they don't like. NPR media correspondent David Falkenflich is covering all this. David, good morning.
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Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
What was the lawsuit about?
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
We've heard people dance in the streets. Now we hear from Syrians who ask if the collapse of the old order might bring retribution against them.
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Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
I'm just thinking about that. So according to the judge, this is something of a subtlety and it's involving a public figure where normally you can have very, very wide latitude to say all sorts of things. What had legal experts said about the merits of Trump's case against ABC News?
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Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
Yeah, absolutely. It matters who you are. If you're totally a private citizen, maybe if somebody says something terrible about you, you can sue. It gets harder when you get more famous. So why, in this case, did ABC News settle?
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
NPR's David Folkenflik, thanks so much. You bet. And that's Up First for this Monday, December 16th. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Syrian Minorities Fear Retribution, Israel-Hamas Talks, ABC Settles Trump Lawsuit
NPR's Team Damascus for Up First includes Arzu Rezvani and Taylor Haney. Today's episode was edited by Carrie Kahn, Emily Kopp, H.J. Mai, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Zach Coleman. Join us tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Gavin Newsom says he wants to restore neighborhoods as quickly as possible. And for people restoring their homes, he will use his power to waive California's famously challenging environmental reviews. First, though, the fires have to burn out and they have killed an estimated 24 people so far as we know.
Up First from NPR
Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. Negotiations are underway to end the war in Gaza before President-elect Trump takes office next week.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Thousands of firefighters have come to Los Angeles to help slow the spread of the two biggest wildfires.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Diplomats and officials from the U.S., Israel, and Hamas are all in Qatar, not all sitting in the same room, but close by. After 15 months of war, they're trying to be creative in getting some kind of agreement. The goal is to end the fighting and secure the release of Israeli hostages before President-elect Trump takes office on January 20th.
Up First from NPR
Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Yeah, Alejandro Mayorkas oversaw border security and immigration, big issues in President-elect Trump's victory in November.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Mayorkas said that here in Studio 31 during an exit interview.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Well, he argued the administration's record is stronger than they managed to get across before the election. And it is true that a key number that the Border Patrol uses is way down encounters with people at the border, which is a way to try to get an idea of whether things are going up or down. It's way down. There was, of course, though, a huge surge in asylum seekers back in 2023.
Up First from NPR
Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
So it's down from that high level. Mayorkas says the U.S. is also sending away asylum seekers who do not have a strong claim to stay here. How many people have you deported, say, in the last year?
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Is that higher than it would have been a few years ago?
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
It's worth noting here that while Republicans criticized the administration for not doing anything, immigrant rights groups sometimes said the administration was being too harsh. And Mayorkas is a former prosecutor. He's effectively saying here the Biden administration ultimately has delivered the border security that Republicans ran on.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Well, he knows that Republicans plan to pass a border security bill, which they refused to do last year. He knows that Republicans plan a lot more than border security. They plan mass deportations. Although let's talk about where we are now. He says the U.S. already deported a quarter million people in the past year.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
He says if you expand that number, you're going to need a lot more resources and you may also face some moral questions.
Up First from NPR
Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Well, there are a lot of painful scenarios in sending people away, and some of them involve mixed status families, U.S. citizens in a household with people here illegally, like parents who had children in the United States, for example.
Up First from NPR
Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Yeah, he did the other day on NBC. He said he doesn't want to break up the family, so he wants to send them all back. To whatever country. Mayorkas talked us through the brutal realities of that law. Biden, he says, tried to keep mixed-status families together inside the United States. Republicans sued. Courts threw that out.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
So if you're going to keep the family together, the remaining option is to make everybody leave, even U.S. citizens. Let's listen.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
Would they have any legal defense against that situation?
Up First from NPR
Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
He says it's not something the Biden administration wanted to do, but that a new president has said he is determined to try. And I find it useful at this moment, A, just to kind of get a baseline on where we start here, because the Biden administration did ramp up deportations, did ramp up border security at the very end.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
And so that's the point at which the Trump administration begins promising massive changes.
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Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
He did not say that he did. I think that he sees this as a continuing process and he did everything that he could. All right. Steve, thanks. Glad to do it.
Up First from NPR
Dozens Dead in L.A. Fires, Middle East Ceasefire Talks, Homeland Security Chief
And I'm Steve Inskeep. You know, we at Up First give you three big stories of the day, like we just did. Our colleagues at Consider This take a different approach diving into a single story and what it means to you. Also, in just 12, 15 minutes, listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
Canada's New Leader, ICE Arrest Columbia Student, Congress and The Budget
Mark Carney won a kind of mini-election among Liberal Party members, and his landslide win means he will now replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who's leaving office just as Canada faces a confrontation with the United States.
Up First from NPR
Canada's New Leader, ICE Arrest Columbia Student, Congress and The Budget
I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez and this is Up First from NPR News. Immigration authorities arrested a Columbia graduate student who led protests over Gaza. His lawyer says agents gave no reason.
Up First from NPR
Canada's New Leader, ICE Arrest Columbia Student, Congress and The Budget
Canada's new prime minister says he's ready for conflict with its neighbour and up to now closest ally.
Up First from NPR
Canada's New Leader, ICE Arrest Columbia Student, Congress and The Budget
What due process, if any, does the government owe a legal permanent resident?
Up First from NPR
Canada's New Leader, ICE Arrest Columbia Student, Congress and The Budget
His name is Mahmoud Khalil. His lawyer tells NPR that officers from ICE, that's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, picked him up at his university apartment. They told him his green card had been revoked. Green card. He was a lawful permanent resident. President Trump had promised to deport students who protested against Israel during the war in Gaza.
Up First from NPR
Canada's New Leader, ICE Arrest Columbia Student, Congress and The Budget
They're doing what lawmakers have done again and again and again and again in recent years. Instead of passing the annual 12 spending bills in what's called regular order with a lot of choices and compromises, Republicans want to largely keep the government running on autopilot under last year's budget numbers for a while.
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Canada's New Leader, ICE Arrest Columbia Student, Congress and The Budget
While they discuss all this, Congress needs to approve something by Friday or face another government shutdown.
Up First from NPR
Canada's New Leader, ICE Arrest Columbia Student, Congress and The Budget
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Thanks for joining us for Up First. You can find more in-depth coverage of the stories we discussed and more on NPR's Morning Edition, the radio show that A. Martinez co-hosts with Michelle Martin, Leila Fadal, and myself, me. Find Morning Edition on your local NPR station at stations.npr.org.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Markets have fallen since last Wednesday when President Trump launched a trade war against most of the world. Asian and European markets fell overnight, and not by a little. Japan's Nikkei Index dropped almost 8% of its value. Here in the United States, economists are increasing their odds of a recession. The investment bank Goldman Sachs says we're close to 50-50 odds.
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Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
And in making that estimate, Goldman assumes that Trump will not go through with a plan for the biggest tariffs to hit on Wednesday. If that should happen, Goldman simply forecasts recession.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
I'm Steve Inskeep with A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. The Trump administration has a midnight deadline to return a man deported to El Salvador in what a federal judge called a grievous error. So why has the Department of Justice put its attorney on administrative leave?
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
President Trump's trade war prompted even more market declines, which he dismissed.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
A federal judge ordered the administration to bring back Quilmar Armando Albrego Garcia, who was arrested and deported last month in what the judge described as an illegal act. The Justice Department is appealing that order, and it placed the attorney who argued its case on administrative leave.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended the child's funeral on Sunday and identified the child as 8-year-old Daisy Hildebrand. Until this year, the United States had not reported a measles death for nearly a decade. Now, an outbreak centered in Texas has 481 confirmed cases.
Up First from NPR
Global Markets Plummet, Wrongful Deportation Deadline, Second Measles Death
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR. We hear it up first, give you three big stories of the day, and our colleagues at Consider This dive into a single news story and what it means to you in less than 15 minutes. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
Good morning, Steve.
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Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
Yeah, I mean, he's on trial for a number of alleged activities that center on the abuse of women and others around him. So prosecutors are basically alleging that Combs used his significant power and his business empire to protect himself from the repercussions of those actions. So for one, he faces charges of sex trafficking.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
That means forcing or coercing someone to engage in commercial sex acts. Aya Gruber is a criminal law professor at the University of Southern California. And she says that especially after the trials of Harvey Weinstein and the Nixxiom cult case, the legal definition of commercial sex is quite broad.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
So, for example, promising to help someone's career could potentially be considered something of value in some instances. Combs also faces charges for transporting people across state lines to participate in commercial sex. And the third charge, racketeering conspiracy, is what ties all of this together.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
Prosecutors allege that Combs directed his employees to organize and conceal these sex crimes for over a decade. And Combs has pleaded not guilty to all of these charges.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
you know, the civil law and the criminal law are two completely different systems. But there is a lot of overlap in the behavior described here. So you're absolutely right. Combs faces dozens of civil lawsuits. Some listeners might be familiar with the R&B singer Cassie Ventura, who filed the first prominent civil lawsuit against him. But that's not necessarily what this trial is about.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
He's really only on trial for the criminal charges in the indictment that we just discussed. However, there is a chance that some of the alleged victims are who filed civil suits, have also been cooperating with this criminal investigation. So even though there are two different legal roads when it comes to Sean Combs, there could be some intersecting here.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
Yeah, I mean, Combs is from New York City and he's a huge star. So there's really a high chance that potential jurors here will already have some opinions about this case. Both the prosecution and the defense submitted proposed questionnaires for what they'd like the jury to be asked.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
Combs' team included questions about how jurors feel about wealthy celebrities, what kind of music they listen to, and how they might respond to evidence that describes people engaging in sexual relations with multiple partners. On the prosecution side, several of their key witnesses are alleged victims who will be testifying against Combs under pseudonyms.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
So the prosecution also proposed asking whether jurors would be more or less likely to believe a witness who testifies under a different name.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
So Sean Combs has been in custody since he was arrested in September. He's been denied bail multiple times. And if he's found guilty of all of these charges, he could be spending the remainder of his life behind bars.
Up First from NPR
Trump And The Constitution, Gaza Food Aid Plan, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial Begins
Thank you.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
President Trump travels to Pittsburgh today to celebrate something that he previously said he would not allow. It's a partnership between United States Steel and the Japanese company Nippon Steel. Former President Biden blocked that sale on national security grounds.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
Candidate Trump also promised to block it, saying that foreign ownership of a company with United States in the name just sounded psychologically bad. Here he was campaigning in Pennsylvania last October.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith is here. Tam, good morning. Good morning. Why say yes now?
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
U.S. Steel is entering a multi-billion dollar partnership with the Japanese competitor Nippon. President Trump campaigned on a promise to block that deal. He now says he approves. So how, if at all, did the agreement change? I'm Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. Harvard University says the Trump administration broke the law when it banned international students there.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
OK, so we have a social media post, but what are the details here?
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
A judge says the students may keep attending for now.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
Tam, first, thanks very much for the reporting. I appreciate your look at the substance here. It really helps me. Second, I want to talk about the politics. Last fall, we talked with people in western Pennsylvania where there are U.S. Steel plants who thought this deal was good. Even the local union guys thought the deal was good.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
But there was this national opposition in the middle of the campaign. So why would he promote the deal in such a big way now?
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
Why is the administration cracking down? Also, as Elon Musk waves goodbye to his Department of Government Efficiency, did it make government any more efficient? NPR delivers you an efficient look at the evidence. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
NPR's Tamara Keith will be traveling with the president to Pittsburgh today. Tam, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
Harvard University can go right on enrolling international students, at least for now. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction, which has the same effect as a temporary restraining order did last week. The Trump administration may not revoke the university's ability to issue student visas. NPR's Alyssa Nadworny is covering this story. Alyssa, good morning. Good morning.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
What happened in court?
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
How big a deal is it for Harvard to be taking in international students?
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
Every university in the country that has international students must be watching this case, Alyssa.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
You mentioned that China is one of the biggest senders of international students, one of the biggest spenders on American education. And the State Department announced this week that it's planning to revoke student visas for students from China. What's going on?
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
Depending on how big the scale turns out to be. Exactly. Alyssa, thanks so much. You bet. NPR's Alyssa Nadwurning. Elon Musk says he is leaving his government role as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The head of Tesla and SpaceX and X will join President Trump at the White House for one last time this afternoon.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
NPR's Stephen Fowler has been covering DOGE all along, and he's on the line. Stephen, good morning. Good morning. Okay, does Musk stepping away change anything about what the Department of Government Efficiency will do?
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
Stephen, I followed all your reporting on this. A lot of Doge's claims of savings and changes were illusory or have been reversed, as you just mentioned, but they're still out there acting. So what could they continue to do?
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
I think a lot of people who own Tesla stock didn't think he was being very helpful to them.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
Oh, it's like they threatened to fire the guy who was really openly joyful about firing people. I'm thinking of the moment when he stood on stage waving around a chainsaw. Now that just a little time has passed, how is that metaphor working out for him?
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
Cutting to the facts, NPR's Stephen Fowler. He's part of NPR's team of reporters covering efforts to remake the federal government. Stephen, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
And that's Up First for this Friday, May 30th. I'm Steve Inskeep. Up First comes your way on Saturdays. Ayesha Roscoe and Scott Simon have the news. And then, in this very same feed on Up First Sunday, scientists seek evidence of how dinosaurs went extinct by digging behind a strip mall in New Jersey. You could probably go under the Lowe's and find these same deposits or the Chick-fil-A.
Up First from NPR
Trump's US Steel Reversal, Court Win For Harvard, Musk Leaves DOGE
That's this Sunday right here on Up First. Today's Up First was edited by Kelsey Snell, Lauren McGaughy, Padma Rama, H.J. Mai, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia DeMoss, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Misha Hynas, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Our executive producer is Jay Shaler. Join us Monday.
Up First from NPR
ICE Student Arrests, HHS Cuts, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, China Trade City
Well, we've been visiting the source of your stuff, Michelle. Things like hairpins, pots and pans, toys. You've got a grill, don't you? You got a grill? I do. And pots and pans. Okay, well, we saw a place where they sell enormous numbers of grills.
Up First from NPR
ICE Student Arrests, HHS Cuts, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, China Trade City
A lot of that kind of consumer stuff comes to America through a Chinese trading city called Yiwu, Y-I-W-U, Yiwu, where thousands of wholesalers ship products from nearby factories. Our tour through this area gave us a little bit of news, how some Chinese businesses are responding to those tariffs, and also a picture of life.
Up First from NPR
ICE Student Arrests, HHS Cuts, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, China Trade City
This international trading market is like a shopping mall next to a shopping mall next to a shopping mall. And I walked through with our colleague, Rina Advani, and we recorded as we went. Let's just listen to a little bit of that.
Up First from NPR
ICE Student Arrests, HHS Cuts, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, China Trade City
So there's an umbrella store, nothing but umbrellas.
Up First from NPR
ICE Student Arrests, HHS Cuts, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, China Trade City
Light bulbs, like a light bulb store, that's what they sell. Shop after shop after shop, and then we settled in at a display room for hardware. I've been going around the store just writing down things that are for sale. Spades, saws, staplers, caulk guns, garden shears, wire cutters, bolt cutters, garden hose nozzles.
Up First from NPR
ICE Student Arrests, HHS Cuts, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, China Trade City
that the Chinese suppliers of our goods are dealing with those tariffs in different ways. The hardware store seller who's selling screwdrivers, jackhammers, any number of things, says she thinks that her tools are in demand and that American consumers are just going to pay more. She's not changing her prices.
Up First from NPR
ICE Student Arrests, HHS Cuts, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, China Trade City
Yeah, yeah, yeah. She says she's just going to improve the packaging and marketing a little bit. But with that said, we also heard some stories of people who have lost business or agreed to make some tradeoffs. OK, what do you mean by that? Well, for example, a seller of hairpins and claw clips told us she had an order from Target, and they said, would you pick up half the cost of the tariffs?
Up First from NPR
ICE Student Arrests, HHS Cuts, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, China Trade City
She tried to negotiate, and they delayed the order. She's losing the business. We also met a guy who sells thousands and thousands of toys made on 3D printers. He says one of his clients asked for half the tariffs to be paid by him. He said, sure, his business is expanding, and regardless, tariffs or not, he is raising his prices. So what's the bottom line here?
Up First from NPR
ICE Student Arrests, HHS Cuts, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, China Trade City
That there is a give and take, I guess. It seems like suppliers will, in fact, pay some of the tariffs, but American consumers will, too. And it's also clear to us from here that China has some options. They sell all over the world, including outside of the United States, in a rapidly changing marketplace.
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy Visits DC, Tate Brothers In Florida, USAID Standoff, AOC and DOJ
Holman was upset, I suppose, because he felt that you were giving advice to people who were here illegally. Were you?
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy Visits DC, Tate Brothers In Florida, USAID Standoff, AOC and DOJ
He said he was going to report you or even that he did reach out to the Department of Justice. Have you heard from the Department of Justice?
Up First from NPR
Zelenskyy Visits DC, Tate Brothers In Florida, USAID Standoff, AOC and DOJ
Really? What would your question be for the Department of Justice?
Up First from NPR
School Funding, Venezuelan Deportation Hearing, Key Bridge Inspection
Well, Leila, because of the trade war that the United States has launched with China, I want to see what this looks like from the other side. how the Chinese are responding to American tariffs, and also a broader new U.S. attitude toward the world. If you think about things like the effort to ban TikTok, to give just one example.
Up First from NPR
School Funding, Venezuelan Deportation Hearing, Key Bridge Inspection
One of the things we're going to be doing is going to this big Chinese business conference. If you've heard of things like the big Davos meeting in Europe, this is the very rough equivalent of that. The China Development Forum, global business people gather, and it's a chance for us to try to listen in and get a sense of what's going on with the economy.
Up First from NPR
School Funding, Venezuelan Deportation Hearing, Key Bridge Inspection
International CEOs from Europe, from the United States, specialists on China and its economy. From what we've heard so far, the Americans are going to be a little sparse, but some will be there. And I'm going to be listening to the way that business leaders talk about the climate now and also how the Chinese government tries to position itself as the United States assumes a new role in the world.
Up First from NPR
School Funding, Venezuelan Deportation Hearing, Key Bridge Inspection
Well, the big picture is a little bit slower growth than in the past. Real estate prices, the fall in real estate prices are dragging things down. A lot of people don't feel as wealthy because their homes are worth less. Consumer spending is low. Consumer confidence is low. At the same time, China's high-tech development is pulling them up. They're dominating industries like electric vehicles.
Up First from NPR
School Funding, Venezuelan Deportation Hearing, Key Bridge Inspection
They're being more competitive than people expected in artificial intelligence, on and on. But we want to get at some of the nuances of how China's economy is growing and how it's changing. And that is what we're going to hear in days to come, along with an NPR team that includes John Ruich. and Anthony Kuhn. There's going to be some news out of China.
Up First from NPR
School Funding, Venezuelan Deportation Hearing, Key Bridge Inspection
China's president is widely expected, perhaps, to have a meeting with international CEOs, and we'll try to follow it all.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Okay, so United States, Guantanamo, Honduras, Venezuela, zigzagging around the Caribbean and surrounding areas. So I want to figure out what we've learned here.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
OK, so I guess some of them were accused of crimes. Some of them were not accused of crimes other than entering the United States illegally and they went to Guantanamo. Here's my next question. If they sent people to Guantanamo briefly, only to send them onward to other places, it's a way station, it's a transfer point.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Who is the United States sending to Guantanamo? We have some idea now that the U.S. has sent migrants to that base and back out. Our correspondent tells us what court filings reveal about some migrants removed from this country.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
OK, so they're sending a signal either to the U.S. public or to future migrants about what they want to do to people who come to the United States. Another question now, Sergio, what was the lawsuit that you mentioned earlier?
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran, thanks for your reporting. Really appreciate it. You're welcome. In Israel, authorities say a body returned by Hamas, a hostage, is not who the militants claimed it to be.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Adil, good morning.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
I just have to ask, what happened?
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Here in the United States, the Trump administration laid off some FEMA workers and people involved in the Emergency Management Agency tell NPR it's backing off work on building codes to make buildings more resilient. What's changing and why? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. We have a clearer picture this morning of how the Trump administration is using the U.S.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Each of these hostage returns, whether the people are living or dead, has been horrifying in one way or another and dismaying to people in Israel. So what does all this mean for the next steps, another hostage exchange and the next phase of the peace talks?
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Hadil, what is this news of explosions in Tel Aviv in Israel that has come out in the same 24-hour period as the hostage exchange of the bodies returned?
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
NPR's Adil Alshalchi, thanks for your reporting. Really appreciate it, as always.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
In this country, President Trump's administration has brought its firings to FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the people who help local authorities in disasters.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Lauren Sommer with NPR's Climate Desk is covering this story. Lauren, good morning. Good morning. How many people were fired?
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Okay, so 200 firings, but it is an agency with thousands. So how would this affect their response in a disaster?
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Although didn't the president suggest that FEMA wasn't necessary when he was talking during the Los Angeles fires?
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
This is really interesting reporting you have here, and I want to talk about this. There is a wider debate over building requirements. There are even liberals and progressives as well as conservatives who think we've made it too hard to build stuff. and that it's bad for society.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
But I assume you're talking here about relatively narrow recommendations about how to make your house or your building survive a disaster.
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Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
And we've learned some information about them along the way. So let's go to NPR immigration correspondent Sergio Martinez Beltran. Sergio, good morning.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Thanks so much. Thank you. And that's Up First for this Friday, February 21st. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
And then on Sunday in this same feed, our Sunday story goes deep. A journalist tries to understand his own father's belief in conspiracies.
Up First from NPR
Migrants Leave Guantanamo, Israeli Hostages Update, Changes at FEMA
Listen to The Sunday Story on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
Federal agencies run out of money at midnight tonight. It is not clear how Congress will do one of the most basic parts of its job, which is to fund the daily operations of the federal government.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
Congress has the deadline of tonight to fund the federal government. Elon Musk and President-elect Trump instructed Republicans to kill a bipartisan plan. Then the House rejected Trump's preferred alternative. What now?
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
Just taking a breath. NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh has been covering all of this and is up early once again. Hi there, Deirdre. Good morning, Steve. Why did plan B fail?
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
I'm just thinking about pure numbers in the House of Representatives. They needed a two-thirds vote. So they needed Democrats to support this, right? They did. And so then they did this thing where they didn't even negotiate with Democrats. So you knew it was going to fail. Then it didn't even get a majority because a lot of Republicans turned against it. And so what's plan C? There isn't one.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
Also, a rebel group toppled Syria's government with surprising ease. Now it's their job to build a new government that includes everyone in a divided country. How could they do it? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
So what does this mean if Republicans feel they need to obey President-elect Trump and or Elon Musk in saying no to things, but then they won't even say yes to things necessarily? What does this mean for next year?
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
And Pierce Deidre Walsh covered the last Trump administration and will be covering Congress in this one. Thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
We have a closer look this morning at the battle for one Ukrainian city.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
NPR's Brian Mann made it into Pokrovsk yesterday and joins us. Hey there, Brian.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
I appreciate this description. Somebody was pointing out to me the other day that this war is like World War I trench warfare, except with drones overhead all the time and other things that make it more horrifying. Now, you suggested a moment ago that a lot of civilians seem to have left this city that's mostly empty, but are all civilians out of harm's way?
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
Well, how have Ukrainian forces been able to hold out against superior Russian numbers?
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
NPR's Brian Mann, who's been on the front lines near Povrovsk, Ukraine. Thanks.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
The rebels who deposed Syria's government now face the challenge of replacing it.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
NPR's Adil Al-Shalchi is in Damascus. Hi there. Good morning. What is the rebels' vision for Syria?
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
Okay, they're saying they're not going to do that stringent rule, but how do their public comments stack up with what they're doing so far?
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
So they inherit now this country that is very isolated in the world, all kinds of international sanctions and everything else. Do you get the impression that the new rulers are wanting to engage with the world and that the world is ready to engage with them?
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
We've got a couple seconds left, so I just want to ask you, you're walking around Damascus. Are things still relatively calm day by day?
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
It's good if you can get back to worrying about traffic. NPR's Adil Al-Shalji, thanks so much. You're welcome, Steve. And that's Up First for this Friday, December 20th.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
I want you to know the names of some of our colleagues who bring you up first in this holiday season. Today's episode was edited by Kelsey Snell, Carrie Kahn, Ryland Barton, H.J. Mai, and Olivia Hampton. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia DeMoss, and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from the ever-supportive Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carly Strange.
Up First from NPR
GOP Stopgap Bill Fails, Battle For Ukrainian Town, Syria's Interim Government
And our executive producer is Kelly Dickens. Join us tomorrow.
Up First from NPR
Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Judging by their questions in oral arguments, the Supreme Court seemed divided yesterday.
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg says the government advanced a different argument. Hi there, Nina. Hi there, Steve. So, Nina, what was the president trying to do, or his lawyers, anyway?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Yeah, I guess the argument is that the ruling in a lower court should only apply to the case that's in front of them. And in fairness, some justices do not seem to have liked nationwide injunctions in the past.
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Interesting that he is questioned there by a Trump appointee. He says, maybe we would follow appeals court orders, maybe not. How did the justices respond to that?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Also, Sean Combs' former girlfriend testified about their 11-year relationship. Cassie Ventura described a pattern of violence and control. What's the evidence that the record executive abused his power? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Nina, sometimes you can listen to the justices' questions and predict how they're going to rule. Are you able to predict this time?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
We'll just have to keep listening then. NPR's Nina Totenberg, thanks so much.
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
What did the United States gain from President Trump's first state trip overseas in a second term?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez has been traveling with the president. Such a whirlwind trip, Franco, that when I asked you a moment ago, where are you, it took you a couple seconds to recall, which is perfectly understandable. We're glad you're with us from where?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Well, what did the president focus on?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
OK, so there's Gaza, there's Syria, a separate issue. And then there's the matter of the war in Ukraine, because the president said he might go to Turkey, where some of his officials are trying to negotiate an end to the war. Is he going to stop there?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Okay. Any other lasting takeaways for you?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Franco, thanks so much for the insights and safe travels home.
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
NPR's Franco Ordonez in Abu Dhabi. In this country, the sex trafficking trial of Sean Combs began this week.
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
President Trump tried to overturn that right and asked the Supreme Court to limit the power of judges to stop him. What are the arguments?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
NPR's Isabel Gomez Sarmiento has been in the courthouse and joins us. We will be getting into allegations of physical and sexual assault in the next three and a half minutes. Isabel, good morning. Good morning, Steve. What does the prosecution case amount to?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Well, A mentioned Cassie Ventura. What have you heard from her?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
I would imagine that is a key part of any prosecution case. Not just what you did, but how you did it. Did someone feel coerced or overcome by someone's power? How does this testimony relate to the formal charges, which are sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation for prostitution?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
What happened when Combs' defense lawyers had an opportunity to cross-examine her?
Up First from NPR
Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Can I just ask, this trial obviously is a focus of lots of attention. It's a huge media event, and you're covering it day by day. What's it like to be there?
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
Isabella, thanks for the update. Really appreciate it.
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Birthright Citizenship Arguments, Trump's Mideast Trip, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial
That's NPR's Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento. And that's Up First for this Friday.
Up First from NPR
Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a spending bill earlier this week that would keep the government open. It funds the government through the end of September with money mostly unchanged, except it raises defense spending and cuts money for the District of Columbia, among other things. It's written in a way that may give President Trump more leeway to make cuts of his own.
Up First from NPR
Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
We hear his case for a bill he hates. I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. Past presidents kept some distance from the Justice Department to avoid the appearance of political interference. Today, President Trump delivers a speech there on what he says is law and order. What are his orders to federal agents and prosecutors?
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Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
Republicans need the votes from Democrats to get the bill through the Senate, leaving Democrats with the choice to support this bill they hate or allow a government shutdown.
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Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
Yeah, he's going to deliver a speech, which the White House bills as being about law and order. Trump's visit comes at a turbulent time for the department, where Trump appointees have pushed out career officials at the department who they deem insufficiently loyal to the president.
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Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
You have a huge loss of institutional knowledge. It's just decimated the government. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
The judges say the mass firings were conducted in a way that appears to be illegal. All of the employees were on probationary status, meaning they were in their first year or two on the job for the most part. One ruling covers the departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, and Treasury, a lot of federal departments.
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Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
The other case was brought by Democratic State Attorneys General and covered even more agencies, but is just temporary.
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Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
I've looked at data from about 10,000 terminated employees, and what's very clear is that you have everyone from the director or deputy director to the student intern. So you have a huge loss of institutional knowledge. It's just decimated the government.
Up First from NPR
Congress Budget Vote, Trump Speaks At DOJ, Federal Workers Reinstated
I'm Leila Falded. And I'm Steve Inskeep. Up first comes your way on Saturdays. Ayesha Roscoe and Scott Simon have the news, which you will find wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
The fall of Syria's longtime president prompted celebrations by many of its people. It's safe to say the same event led to dismay in the capital of Iran.
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
NPR international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam covers Iran. Hey there, Jackie. Good morning, Steve. How did the Iranians use the old Syrian government?
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
What were or are the regime's long-term goals exactly?
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Oh, which underlines how disastrous the last few months have been for Iran because Hezbollah has been decimated by Israel's military. This is just a moment when you would think Iran would want to be resupplying Hezbollah. I guess that's not going to happen.
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Okay, so might Iran change its strategy of seeking domination through the region?
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Also, who's flying drones over New Jersey? Could it be a Springsteen fan? Someone who's afraid of the drivers? And is it a coincidence that the radio broadcast of War of the Worlds was set there? We won't just drone on about the state where I used to live, but stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
NPR's Jackie Northam, thanks for the insights.
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Some American colleges are preparing for President-elect Trump's second term.
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Kirk Carrapeza is covering this. He follows higher education from member station GBH in Boston. Kirk, good morning.
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Okay, so I guess we can imagine why they would make this suggestion, but let's try to get the facts out. What is driving this?
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Okay, so he said that, but there's an if at the beginning of that. Is it entirely clear what specifically the new president will do regarding international students?
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
What do you hear when you reach out to administrators as well as students?
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Iranian money and troops propped up the old Syrian leaders, so how much does his government's collapse set back an adversary of Israel and the United States?
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Yeah, although, fair point, policy hasn't changed yet. We don't really know what's going to happen. Kirk, thanks so much. Thank you, Steve. Kirk Carrapeza covers higher education for GBH in Boston. What in the world is going on in the skies over New Jersey?
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Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen once described North Jersey's sky with the line, the sun's just a red ball rising over them refinery towers. But now we need to add a few drones to the lyrics and to that picture because people have been reporting flying objects. Federal authorities say the drones are not a security threat, which still leaves the question of what they are.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
And that's Up First for this Friday, December 13th. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Iran Loses Regional Ally, U.S. Colleges Prepare For Trump, Drone Sightings
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Didi Skanky, Stephen Drummond, Ali Schweitzer, H.J. Mai, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Batch, Nia Dumas, and Ben Abrams. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Our executive producer is Kelly Dickens. Join us Monday.
Up First from NPR
Tariff Fears, Trump Budget Plan Passes House, Deportation Ruling
Will the Fed step in to stabilize things with lower rates? I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. A budget plan extending President Trump's tax cuts narrowly gained approval in the House.
Up First from NPR
Tariff Fears, Trump Budget Plan Passes House, Deportation Ruling
This week, the president made up a new tax rate that Americans pay for Chinese imports. He made the announcement by composing a social media post with a couple of cabinet secretaries in the room. That was the process. One day later, the White House said the rate was actually different than announced, marking the sixth time the president has changed the China tariff in a matter of weeks.
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Tariff Fears, Trump Budget Plan Passes House, Deportation Ruling
Last night, China struck back by raising their tariffs on U.S. imports to 125 percent. So what does all this mean for financial markets and the broader economy?
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Tariff Fears, Trump Budget Plan Passes House, Deportation Ruling
Here are some vocabulary words to help describe this week.
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Tariff Fears, Trump Budget Plan Passes House, Deportation Ruling
Even some Republicans worried that spending cuts targeting Medicaid could hurt working class Trump voters. So what is the Republican strategy?
Up First from NPR
Tariff Fears, Trump Budget Plan Passes House, Deportation Ruling
Republicans narrowly gained approval of their budget blueprint, which makes room for renewing President Trump's tax cuts as well as his border security policies. This plan also includes trillions of dollars in federal borrowing to finance those tax cuts and other things. Fiscal conservatives resisted that part but got a promise from party leaders to deliver spending cuts later.
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Tariff Fears, Trump Budget Plan Passes House, Deportation Ruling
Speaker Mike Johnson says the real work begins now.
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Tariff Fears, Trump Budget Plan Passes House, Deportation Ruling
The high court mostly sided with a lower court judge, despite an emergency appeal from the Trump administration. The justices sent the case back for clarification to that judge on just what the court can tell the president to do.
Up First from NPR
Tariff Fears, Trump Budget Plan Passes House, Deportation Ruling
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Remember, Up First comes your way on Saturdays, too. Aisha Roscoe and Scott Simon have the news, and you can find it wherever you get your podcasts.
Up First from NPR
LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
Now they have a break. The Santa Ana winds have let up a little bit, slowing the spread and letting air crews dump water from overhead. So we can assess. At least 10 people have died. And thousands of structures have been destroyed in Pacific Palisades and other communities like the one we will hear about now. Altadena is a little inland in the foothills to the east of L.A.
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LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
President-elect Trump will briefly turn away from his transition to power to attend, likely virtually, his criminal sentencing today.
Up First from NPR
LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
The court decided it would at least listen to arguments by owners of TikTok. Congress set a deadline to sell or shut down. We'll hear the company's bid today to block the law. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
NPR political reporter Ximena Bastillo has been covering this trial. Good morning. Good morning. Work out the background for us. What's at stake here?
Up First from NPR
LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
I did have a look at the court's finding on this. It's not an extended ruling, but they put a few words out. What did they say?
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LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
Yeah, this is really, really interesting. They knew in advance that the president-elect wasn't going to be punished or wasn't going to even have to travel to Manhattan. And even so, there were four justices who were willing to side with Trump and delay the sentencing in whatever sense it would be inconvenient to the president-elect.
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LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
But still, it goes forward and reminds people what this case was about. What was it that Trump was convicted of?
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LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
And how has Trump challenged that case?
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LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
This is what the Supreme Court said. If he has concerns about the case, pursue them in an ordinary appeal, they said. And, Piers, Amanda Bastio, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
Some other news now. Today, lawyers for TikTok will be arguing before the Supreme Court.
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LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
NPR's Bobby Allen will be covering this story. Bobby, good morning. Good morning, Steve.
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LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
OK, so now the timing is important here. The Supreme Court has a lot of power when they decide, oh, we should intervene before a deadline or let things play out and we will take our time and rule on things later. In this case, they said we're scheduling fast arguments for January 10th. and the ban is supposed to start on January 19th. So is it likely really to take effect?
Up First from NPR
LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
It's interesting to think about this not only as a constitutional question, it's about free speech, among other things, but also a question of which branch of government is has the power here. Congress passed this law, which the outgoing president signed. You have an incoming president who changed his mind about TikTok, used to be opposed to it. Now he says he favors it.
Up First from NPR
LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
A lot of his supporters use it. And he's about to take power. So what could he do after January 20th about TikTok?
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LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
Okay. And of course, Congress would then face the question about whether they would want to assert their authority. But there's another group here. How are creators who use TikTok responding?
Up First from NPR
LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
Thanks, Steve. And that's Up First for this Friday, January 10th. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
LA Fires Latest, Trump's Sentencing, TikTok At The Supreme Court
Today's Up First, that's U-P-F-I-R-S-T, was edited by Gigi Dubon, Ana Yukonanoff, Cara Platoni, Jenea Williams, and Lisa Thompson. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Lily Quiroz. We get engineering support from Nisha Heines, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Our executive producer is Kelly Dickens. Join us on Saturday and Monday and other days.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose, along with Ruth, was part of our live coverage yesterday as the name was revealed, and he's been looking into the life of the Pope from Chicago. Hi there, Jason. Hello. What do you know about Leo?
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Also, negotiators from the U.S. and China will meet over the weekend. The U.S. hopes to ease the terms of its own trade war, while China wants fewer restrictions on American tech.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
What sense do you have at this early moment about what style of pope he might be?
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Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
I've noticed that already there are some criticisms of Pope Leo.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
I noticed that there are some hardcore supporters of President Trump who seem to assume that he is going to be opposed to President Trump. They're applying that blue-red filter of the United States onto the pontiff. What are his politics to the extent that they're known?
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Absolutely. Isn't it surprising that it would be an American pope?
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Jason, thanks for your perspective. You're welcome. That's NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose. Trade negotiators from the U.S. and China talked this weekend in Switzerland.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
NPR's Emily Fang has been covering this. Hi there, Emily. Good morning, Steve. How does the meeting in Switzerland compare with trade talks in Trump's first term?
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Wow, doesn't sound like this meeting is likely to produce much of an agreement.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Emily, the Trump administration talks as if they've got the upper hand here, that they've got the cards. How strong does China think its position may be?
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
NPR's Emily Fang, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
And here's one more story, which we have for you this weekend. The backstory of Sean Combs, who was on trial accused of sex crimes. This weekend on the Sunday Story from Up First, why did it take so long for the allegations to catch up with a music star and record executive?
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
That's on the next Sunday Story from Up First. And that's Up First for this Friday. It's Friday, May 9th. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Abemus Papam, we have a pope, thanks to my high school Latin teacher. Moments later, as we heard live on NPR, the cleric gave the name Robert Francis Prevost, and it became apparent that it was a pope from Chicago.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Daniel Burke, Ryland Barton, Padmanandarama, Jenea Williams, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Katie Klein, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hynas, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Our executive producer is Jay Shaler. Have a great weekend.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
We have a pope, he said. American Robert Prevost is now Leo XIV, and we'll hear from Ruth Sherlock, who was there.
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
So what is in and what is out of this snapshot?
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Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
Yeah, and it's numbers that couldn't affect the employment numbers in a measurable way. So what would that radical downsizing look like?
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
Oh, thanks for the reminder. The vast majority of people are working state and local government or whatever, or in the private sector, of course. So how is the private sector holding up?
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
You're welcome. When he was campaigning for office, the president promised to make the United States the crypto capital of the planet. And he's taken major steps this week when it comes to digital assets.
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivram has more on this. Good morning. Good morning. Would you just explain for me, I mean, I can understand why the U.S. needs a strategic petroleum reserve. If there's a shortage of petroleum, you'll let some out. Supply and demand keeps the price down. But why would Americans need a crypto reserve?
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
Also, why did Israel change its terms for extending a ceasefire in Gaza? With U.S. help, Israelis are pressing Hamas to accept a different deal and withholding food and fuel. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
And of course, it's an industry in which he's invested. So this is just one move the president is making. There's this summit coming today. What's going on?
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
I'm just thinking, though, when the government changes the rules, there are winners, there are losers. You may be picking winners and losers. And doesn't the president himself have a financial stake here?
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
And Piers Deepa Shivaram, who so far as we know, has not yet released the Deepa coin, but we'll look forward to that.
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
Thank you very much. Thank you. President Trump says his own threats forced a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
NPR international correspondent Aya Batraoui joins us now from Dubai to explain. Hi there. Hey, Steve. I'm just trying to think this through. There was a ceasefire that lasted six weeks. Hamas released some hostages in exchange for Israel freeing some Palestinians. But why haven't they agreed to the second phase yet?
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
Future job reports will reflect federal job cuts and employers who paused as U.S. trade policy keeps changing. Where's the economy heading?
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Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
So how, again, is this plan, this proposal from the Israelis and from the United States different from what was expected?
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
Okay, so we're maybe at this moment not getting closer to a permanent end to the war, but people still talk about what that's supposed to look like. What are some of the visions on the table?
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
I just finished reading it. There's a lot of compelling features to it. We need more discussion about it. But it's a good faith first step from the Egyptians.
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Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
Oh, interesting. Aya, thanks so much.
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
That's NPR correspondent Iaba Traui in Dubai. And that's Up First for this Friday, March 7th. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
Employers added 151,000 jobs in February. That's according to today's jobs report from the Labor Department. And 151,000 is a fairly healthy number, although it does not reflect the economic turmoil of the past several weeks. This is a snapshot of the economy, useful but ever so slightly out of date. NPR's Scott Horsley is here. Good morning, Scott. Good morning, Steve.
Up First from NPR
Jobs Report, White House Crypto Summit, Gaza Ceasefire Uncertainty
Today's Up First was edited by Raphael Nam, Roberta Rampton, Russell Lewis, Alice Wolfley, and Mohamed El-Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hainas. Our technical director is Carly Strange. And let me give you one more name. Jay Shaler is the new executive producer of this program. Welcome, Jay. Join us Monday.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
I'm Steve Inskeep with Layla Fadl, and this is Up First from NPR News. Members of the House of Representatives meet today. Republicans are to elect a speaker, and Mike Johnson will need every vote he can get. A very small number of holdouts would have the power to block him. So what happens if he falls short?
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
The music is back on Bourbon Street. Just let them know that the love is still out here.
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New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
Republicans have an even narrower majority than in the last Congress, which means they have to be close to unanimous to choose a leader. Speaker Mike Johnson has the endorsement of President-elect Trump and also faces a challenge from some Republican holdouts.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
Here's what we know so far. Since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month, Israel has conducted near daily airstrikes across Syria, and Israeli forces seized more territory in the Golan Heights. We say more territory because Israel actually captured much of the Golan decades ago and didn't give it back.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
Now they're moving into a buffer zone that is monitored by the United Nations. Israel says the strikes and troop movements are all aimed at keeping their border secure.
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New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
And that's our first for this Friday, January 3rd. I'm Leila Fadl, it says.
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New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
I would love to be. You know, I'd be a distinguished foreign correspondent dashing about the world and host of a major program. I guess it's true.
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New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
Hold on. Wait a minute. And that's Up First for this Friday, January 3rd. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
Today's Up First was edited by Russell Lewis. Martin Patience, who has an awesome name, wouldn't you agree? Kelsey Snell. Also an awesome name, if you ask me, Jan Johnson. Nice name, Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Katie Klein, Nia Dumas, and Julie Deppenbrock. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us Monday.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
Most notably, the FBI backed off of a vague statement that the driver of a pickup truck was not solely responsible for an attack on people on Bourbon Street. Now they confirm that, as they understand it now, Shamsuddin Jabbar, an Army veteran from Texas, acted alone.
Up First from NPR
New Orleans Answers, House Speaker Vote, Golan Heights Tensions
Your name is amazing. All these names. Carly Strange. That is so great.