Up First from NPR

Up First from NPR

NPR's Up First is the news you need to start your day. The three biggest stories of the day, with reporting and analysis from NPR News — in 10 minutes. Available weekdays at 6:30 a.m. ET, with hosts Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin and A Martinez. Also available on Saturdays at 9 a.m. ET, with Ayesha Rascoe and Scott Simon. On Sundays, hear a longer exploration behind the headlines with Ayesha Rascoe on "The Sunday Story," available by 8 a.m. ET. Subscribe and listen, then support your local NPR station at donate.npr.org. Support NPR's reporting by subscribing to Up First+ and unlock sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/upfirst

Episodes

May 15, 2026 13 mins
President Trump is heading home from Beijing claiming he made fantastic trade deals with China, including a commitment for 200 Boeing jets and soybean purchases.
The Supreme Court kept the abortion pill mifepristone available over telemedicine, putting a hold on an appeals court order that would have required patients to visit a clinic in person to get the medication. 
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a rebellion...
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President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for more than two hours at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with the CEOs of Apple, Tesla and NVIDIA in the room as both sides look to stabilize a trade relationship that has been on shaky ground for years.
China's readout of the meeting between the two leaders emphasized the need for "constructive strategic stability" and warned that mishandling Taiwan could put the ...
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President Trump is in Beijing today meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, with American manufacturers hoping for tariff relief even as the war in Iran looms over the high-stakes summit.
The Pentagon told Congress they estimate the war in Iran has cost $29 billion dollars so far. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked for $1.5 trillion dollars for next year’s Pentagon budget.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary has resigned after ...
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President Trump leaves for Beijing today for a state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the ongoing war in Iran casts a long shadow over the high-stakes summit.
A new inflation report out this morning shows prices rising again, driven heavily by higher gasoline costs from the war in Iran, with ripple effects on airline tickets and other consumer prices.
Public health officials say the hantavirus outbreak that started ...
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President Trump has rejected Iran’s latest response to a U.S. peace proposal as “totally unacceptable,” even as Tehran vows it will never bow to what it calls excessive demands by the United States.
President Trump leaves for Beijing tomorrow to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping as the war in Iran continues to complicate the high-stakes meeting.
Congress is back with a major push to lock in three years of funding for immigrat...
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So you want to be a mother, but you don’t have a partner. More women are shedding the stigma of single motherhood and choosing to have children on their own. This week on The Sunday Story, NPR’s Pallavi Gogoi brings us stories from her conversations with more than 60 women who have embraced this new vision of what motherhood can be.

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President Trump's continued criticism of NATO allies is bringing relations within the alliance to historic lows. The controversial immigration center in the Florida Everglades may be closing. New reporting on the second Trump administration's posture toward corruption by public officials reveals alarming attitudes.

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President Trump insists the ceasefire is holding even after the U.S. and Iran traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz for the second time this week.
Tennessee is the first state to redraw its congressional map after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, joining other Southern Republican-led states in redrawing districts ahead of the midterms.
The U.S. military is facing growing scrutiny over its campaign of airstrikes...
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President Trump is once again claiming the U.S. is on the cusp of a deal with Iran and that the Iranians are desperate to negotiate, even as Tehran has shown no sign of agreeing and U.S. gas prices remain above four dollars and fifty cents a gallon.
Big oil companies are benefiting from high prices caused by the war in Iran, but many are wary of producing more oil.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting Pope Leo the Fourte...
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President Trump claims “great progress” toward an agreement with Iran as he ended the short-lived U.S. effort to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, while keeping the naval blockade in place and Secretary of State Marco Rubio declaring combat operations over.
In Indiana, several Republican state senators who defied President Trump on redistricting lost their primaries last night, while Ohio saw stronger-than-expected Demo...
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President Trump launched “Project Freedom” to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran immediately attacked the first vessels with missiles, drones and small boats on day one of the operation.
In Indiana, President Trump is pouring millions into state senate primaries to punish Republican lawmakers who blocked his push for new congressional maps, testing his hold over the party ahead of the midterms.
The...
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President Trump announced the U.S. military will begin escorting commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz in an operation he calls Project Freedom, even as he reviews a new offer from Iran and keeps the option of renewed strikes on the table.
Louisiana’s governor suspended U.S. House races so lawmakers can draw new congressional maps after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, part of a broader Republican push f...
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Evangelicals in America are divided over immigration enforcement. So who gets to claim the side of God?

This week on The Sunday Story, NPR’s Brittany Luse sits down with two people who think a lot about the separation of church and state: NPR’s religion correspondent, Jason DeRose, and the Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero, president and founder of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. DeRose and Salguero unpack the rhetoric ...
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Spirit Airlines ceased operation overnight, as jet fuel prices are pinching airlines. A panel of federal judges in Louisiana has ended telemedicine access to the abortion pill mifepristone for the entire country. And the federal debt has outgrown the entire U.S. economy. 

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President Trump is facing growing political pressure over the war in Iran as gas prices hit new highs and European allies accuse him of being humiliated by Tehran in the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is over. The House passed a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security after weeks of bitter partisan fighting over immigration enforcement.
President Trump has nominate...
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The Pentagon estimates the war with Iran has already cost 25 billion dollars as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the cost of the war in a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he will remain on the central bank’s board after his term ends next month to shield the agency from political pressure.
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Voting Rights Ac...
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The Justice Department has indicted former FBI Director James Comey for a second time, accusing him of threatening President Trump with an Instagram post of the numbers 86 47 spelled out in seashells on a beach.
King Charles told a joint session of Congress today that the United States and Britain must strengthen their partnership even as President Trump clashes with European leaders over Iran and NATO.
The Supreme Court hear...
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The man who stormed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is being charged with trying to assassinate President Trump, with new court documents revealing he booked the hotel a month in advance and emailed his motives minutes before the attempt.
King Charles addresses Congress today during his state visit to Washington as the royal trip tests whether personal diplomacy can ease sharp tensions between the Trump administration and...
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President Trump called for unity after shots were fired at the White House Correspondents Dinner with him and the Vice President on stage, then later returned to attacking the press and Democrats.
The suspect in the attempted attack is in federal court today and not cooperating with investigators after his own family warned police just minutes before he tried to storm the ballroom.
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive in Was...
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There’s a category of special education that stands out from the rest. It’s designed for kids who struggle with their emotions and behaviors, known at the federal level as “emotional disturbance.” More than 300,000 students in the U.S. currently have this label. Often, these students are taught in separate classrooms or even separate schools. 

Today on The Sunday Story, reporter Laurie Stern shares how this disability labe...
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