Up First from NPR

The U.S. may be on the cusp of striking Iran, even as President Trump has not laid out clear objectives, asked Congress for authorization, or made a full public case for military action.
Hillary Clinton sat for a six-hour, closed-door deposition in the House Oversight Committee’s Epstein investigation, and now Bill Clinton is set to testify as Republicans say they still have unanswered questions.
And Warner Bros. Discovery abruptly walked away from a deal with Netflix for a sweeter bid from Paramount, setting up a major media merger fight that now heads to antitrust regulators.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Megan Pratz, Gerry Holmes, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor(0:00) Introduction
(01:57) US-Iran Tension
(05:47) Clinton Deposition
(09:30) Paramount Wins Warner Bros. Bid

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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt leads a state that gave President Trump 66% of the vote in 2024. He is also charting his own course and has publicly differed with the president. Stitt sat for an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep and talked about his vision for the Republican Party’s post-Trump future.

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This bonus episode of Up First was was produced by Adam Bearne. We get engineering support from Margaret Luthar, David Greenburg and Tiffany Vera Castro.
Our Deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens and our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.

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U.S. and Iranian officials are meeting in Switzerland for another round of high-level talks. The talks will focus on Iran’s nuclear program, but the U.S. also wants ballistic missile restrictions.Harvard professor and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is resigning from his university positions over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Also, Cuban border agents shot and killed four alleged terrorists on a boat registered in the U.S.Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by James Hider, Tina Kraja, Elissa Nadworny, Tara Neill, HJ Mai and Alice Woelfle.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Our Deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.(0:00) Introduction
(02:13) US-Iran Talks
(06:02) Summers Resigns Over Epstein Ties
(09:59) Cuba Kills Four In Boat Strike

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President Trump touted the beginnings of an American revival during his State of the Union address. He talked about a “turnaround for the ages,” in a record-length speech filled with exaggeration.And a bipartisan aviation safety bill failed to advance in Congress after the Pentagon withdrew its support.Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Rafael Nam, Russell Lewis, HJ Mai and Adriana Gallardo.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heines. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin.

(0:00) Introduction
(01:54) Trump Delivers State Of The Union
(05:34) What Trump Had To Say About The Economy
(09:34) Aviation Safety Bill

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Republican strategists say President Trump needs a reset in his State of the Union tonight, with new NPR polling showing 60% of Americans think the country is worse off than a year ago.
Mexico is still reeling from cartel violence after a military operation killed the country's biggest drug lord, El Mencho, and triggered a wave of retaliation, raising questions about whether the government can take on the cartels without fueling even more violence.
And an NPR investigation finds the Justice Department removed or withheld dozens of pages from the Epstein files database that include allegations mentioning President Trump, even as the administration says it has released everything.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Rebecca Rosman, Megan Pratz, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Our Supervising Senior Producer is Vince Pearson.(0:00) Introduction
(02:16) Trump State of the Union Strategy
(05:57) Mexico Cartel Violence
(09:43) Epstein Files Naming Trump

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