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

House Shutdown Vote, Aviation Challenges, USS Ford In Caribbean

November 12, 2025 • 13 mins
House Republicans say they have the votes to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, a vote today could send the bill to President Trump’s desk by nightfall. The FAA warns that flight disruptions will continue even after the government reopens, as air traffic controller shortages strain the nation’s aviation system. And the U.S. deploys its largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, escalating tensions with Venezuela.<...
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House Votes on Funding Bill, Shutdown Deal Dissent, COP30 Global Emissions

November 11, 2025 • 13 mins
The House returns to vote on a bipartisan bill that could end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and send thousands of federal workers back to their jobs. Democrats face internal backlash after several senators broke ranks to support the deal, raising questions about the impact ahead of next year's midterm elections. And COP30 opens in Brazil with a stark warning on global emissions, new data shows fossil fuels are at ...
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Senate Shutdown Breakthrough, SNAP Legal Battle, COP30 Climate Summit Starts

November 10, 2025 • 14 mins
Senate Democrats break ranks to join Republicans in backing a deal to reopen the government after 41 days, a move that could finally end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. SNAP benefits remain tangled in court battles, as a late ruling orders the Trump administration to fully restore payments while states face threats of federal penalties. And world leaders gather in Brazil for a major climate conference, but the Trump administr...
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Carlson’s War: Part 1

November 9, 2025 • 26 mins

What does it mean to live through war? And can someone who’s experienced war ever get over it? These are questions NPR’s Quil Lawrence has been asking himself for years. A decade ago, Lawrence did a story on David Carlson, a veteran who’d excelled at being a soldier but struggled at home with PTSD, drugs and finally incarceration. Could Carlson find a way out or would the trauma of war come to define his life?
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Carlson’s War: Part 2

November 9, 2025 • 27 mins
Part 2: In part two of Carlson’s War, we find Dave Carlson locked up in prison while tormented by PTSD from his time serving in Iraq. Alone and in pain, Carlson reverts back to a combat mindset and finds himself in a dark place. From here, Carlson sets out on a mission to turn his life around. What can we learn from one veteran’s journey to recovery?

If you haven’t heard Part 1, listen here. 

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Who's Been Paying Tariffs, DHS Surveillance Tools, Israel Holds Florida Teen

November 8, 2025 • 14 mins
U.S. consumers have not borne the full brunt of President Trump's tariffs but that may change if they are held up, all or in part, by the Supreme Court. The Department of Homeland Security is employing powerful new tools to surveil foreigners. A Floridian, arrested by Israel earlier this year at age 15 in a rock-throwing incident, faces 20 years in prison.

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FAA Cuts Flights, SNAP Ruling, Trump Focused Abroad

November 7, 2025 • 13 mins
The FAA directs airlines to cut flights by ten percent as the government shutdown strains the nation’s air traffic system. A federal judge orders the Trump administration to fully restore SNAP food benefits by today, blasting it for ignoring the harm to millions of Americans who rely on them. And President Trump hosts Hungary’s Viktor Orbán at the White House, while some of his allies say he should be paying more attention to the e...
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State Of The Shutdown, SCOTUS Tariff Arguments, Chicago ICE Ruling

November 6, 2025 • 13 mins
President Trump calls on Senate Republicans to end the government shutdown by scrapping the filibuster, even as he admits the standoff hurt the party in this week’s elections. The Supreme Court hears arguments on whether Trump overstepped his authority by imposing tariffs under a decades-old emergency powers law. And in Chicago, federal judges side against the administration in immigration enforcement cases, ordering cleaner detent...
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VA NJ Governor Races, Mamdani Elected NYC Mayor, California Redistricting

November 5, 2025 • 13 mins
Democrats won two governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, victories they call a rejection of President Trump’s policies and a sign that economic issues are resonating with voters. New York City elected Zohran Mamdani as its first Muslim mayor, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo in a race that drew record voter turnout. And California voters approved a new congressional map that could give Democrats up to five more House se...
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Four Big Races To Watch, Partial SNAP Funding, Sudan Famine, Dick Cheney Dies at 84

November 4, 2025 • 14 mins
Voters in New York, Virginia and New Jersey choose new leaders today, and a redistricting vote in California could reshape the balance of power in Congress. The Trump administration says it will restart SNAP benefits, but only partially, leaving millions of families uncertain about how they’ll eat this month. Aid groups warn of a deepening crisis in Sudan after a paramilitary force accused of genocide seized the last major city in ...
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Trump's Shutdown Travel, SNAP Benefits Gap, NYC Mayoral Race

November 3, 2025 • 13 mins
President Trump returns to Washington D.C. after a week of international travel and a weekend at his resort in Florida while the government shutdown enters its second month. SNAP benefits ran out over the weekend, leaving millions without food aid as courts press the administration to use emergency funds. And New York City voters head to the polls tomorrow in a heated mayoral race between Zohran Mamdani and former Governor Andrew C...
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How Smaller Families are Changing the World

November 2, 2025 • 22 mins
Across the globe, there is a shift in the size of families as birthrates decline. Communities, schools, and workforces are all shrinking at an alarming rate. Even in the wealthiest countries populations are aging and straining key social systems. How are smaller families changing the world and what does it mean for our future? Explore the full series at npr.org/populationshift.

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SNAP decision, Open Enrollment, Electricity Prices Increase

November 1, 2025 • 13 mins

Two judges rule that it’s unlawful for President Trump to suspend SNAP food benefits. With higher premiums and a government shutdown, open enrollment for health insurance is different this year. Higher electricity prices are factoring into who voters in New Jersey and Virginia pick as their governors.

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Democrats' Shutdown Pressure, SNAP Deadline, Nuclear Testing

October 31, 2025 • 12 mins
Democrats are facing growing pressure to end the government shutdown as millions brace to lose food aid and health care costs surge. A federal judge weighs whether to force the Trump administration to keep SNAP benefits flowing for 42 million Americans as funding runs out. And President Trump says the U.S. should resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in decades, a move experts warn could reignite a global arms race.
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Trump-Xi Meeting, Head Start Funding, Surgeon General Nominee

October 30, 2025 • 13 mins
President Trump met with China’s President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where the two leaders agree to ease trade tensions after months of tariff wars and threats. More than 65,000 children could lose access to Head Start as the government shutdown threatens to cut off funding for childcare and early learning programs. And a Senate confirmation hearing for Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means, was delayed after she we...
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Hurricane Melissa Aftermath, Israel Strikes Gaza Again, Air-Traffic Controllers

October 29, 2025 • 12 mins
Hurricane Melissa devastates Jamaica, leaving neighborhoods underwater and hundreds of thousands without power as it moves toward Cuba. President Trump insisted nothing will jeopardize the ceasefire in Gaza, even after Israel launched new strikes while both sides accuse each other of violations. And air-traffic controllers are working without pay as the government shutdown strains the aviation system and threatens more flight disru...
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SNAP Benefits Shutdown, Trump In Japan, Hurricane Melissa

October 28, 2025 • 13 mins
More than 40 million Americans will soon be without federal food assistance because SNAP benefits are set to expire on November 1 as the government shutdown drags on. President Trump signs a trade deal in Japan to secure rare earth minerals, a key bargaining chip ahead of his meeting with China's president later this week. And Hurricane Melissa bring over 170 mile per hour winds as it barrels towards Jamaica, and threatening other ...
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Trump In Asia, U.S. Military In Caribbean, Shutdown Week 4

October 27, 2025 • 13 mins
President Trump’s Asia trip kicks off with peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand and a trade framework with China, before meeting with President Xi Jinping on Thursday. The massive U.S. military build up in the Caribbean waters off the coast of Venezuela is causing concern from Caracas to the U.S. Congress, Venezuelan troops conduct drills on their beaches this weekend. And federal workers face growing financial strain as the go...
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Kiwi vs. Predator

October 26, 2025 • 23 mins
In New Zealand, a nationwide extermination campaign is underway. It's one of the most ambitious in the world. The country is home to more than four thousand native species that are threatened or at risk of extinction. To protect its biodiversity, New Zealand has embarked on an experiment that aims to eradicate all invasive species by the year 2050. Can the country pull it off? And how far should humans go to reverse the damage we’v...
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House Members During Shutdown; Trump Visits Asia; US Military Buildup in Caribbean

October 25, 2025 • 14 mins
Some members of the House of Representatives are using down time during the shutdown to connect from their constituents back home - we'll tell you what they're hearing. We'll also preview President Trump's trip to Asia, which will be dominated by his administration's at times contentious relationship with China. Plus, the U.S. is ramping up its military presence in the Caribbean. The Pentagon says it's to counter drug traffickers -...
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