Up First from NPR

Blanche Confirmation Hearing, Iran War And Midterm Politics, Clayton ODNI Hearing

Most senators didn't question Todd Blanche's qualifications to lead the Justice Department at his confirmation hearing, they questioned whether the man who spent years as President Trump's personal lawyer would serve the president or the country. President Trump notified Congress that the U.S. is back at war with Iran, starting a new 60-day clock for military action, though the clock that may matter most is the midterms as gas prices ripple through the economy. And Trump's pick for intelligence chief, Jay Clayton, wouldn't acknowledge the results of the 2020 election at his hearing, leaving Democrats to ask why a man with no intelligence experience won't give a straight answer. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/news] to the Up First newsletter. Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Anna Yukhananov, Kelsey Snell, Andrew Sussman, Alice Woelfle, and Mohamad ElBardicy. 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. And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens. (0:00) Introduction (02:35) Blanche Confirmation Hearing (06:30) Iran War And Midterm Politics (10:24) Clayton ODNI Hearing  See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Blanche Confirmation Hearing, US and Strait of Hormuz, ICE Vehicle Stops

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will be on Capitol Hill today for his high-stakes confirmation hearing to lead the Justice Department permanently.  President Trump has talked about the US fully controlling the Strait of Hormuz. But for the US military that means much more than imposing yet another blockade on the key waterway.  The third fatal ICE shooting in a week is now prompting a policy shift at the agency. According to Senator Angus King, ICE will now suspend most vehicle stops during enforcement operations. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/news] to the Up First newsletter. Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Anna Yukhananov, Alina Hartounian, Mohamad ElBardicy, Alice Woelfle, and Ziad Buchh. It was produced by Paige Waterhouse and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin. (0:00) Introduction (1:49) Blanche confirmation hearing (5:38) US and the Strait of Hormuz (9:32) ICE Vehicle stops See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Memorandum Of Misunderstanding, Fatal ICE Shooting, Paramount Merger Suit

The US and Iran have resumed hostilities, despite last month's memorandum of understanding. President Trump says the military will once again blockade the Strait of Hormuz. For the second time in a week, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed an immigrant. A 26-year-old Colombian man was killed yesterday in Maine. Some Maine elected officials say the victim wasn't the target of an ICE warrant. And a dozen states, led by California, are suing to block Paramount from buying Warner Bros. Discovery after the Justice Department cleared the deal. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/news] to the Up First newsletter. Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Eric Westervelt, Emily Kopp, Miguel Macias, Alice Woelfle, Mohamed ElBardicy and Ziad Buchh. It was produced by Paige Waterhouse and Nia Dumas. Our director is Chris Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our Supervising Senior Producer is Vince Pearson. (0:00) Introduction (1:50) Memorandum Of Misunderstanding (5:26) Fatal ICE Shooting (9:13) Paramount Merger Suit See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

US and Iran Trade Attacks Again, Sen. Lindsay Graham Dies, Congress Returns

The U.S. and Iran are continuing to fight over control of the Strait of Hormuz after a weekend of heavy strikes, with the U.S. hitting dozens of Iranian targets and Iran firing at American bases in the Middle East. Senator Lindsey Graham has died at the age of 71, the South Carolina Republican was a committed advocate of U.S. military intervention abroad and a close ally of President Trump. And as Congress returns from recess, Republican are facing tighter voting margins than before with Senator Graham’s death and Senator Mitch McConnel's absence. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/news] to the Up First newsletter. Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Tina Kraja, Anna Yukhananov, Jason Breslow, Ziad Buchh, Mohamad ElBardicy and HJ Mai. It was produced by Paige Waterhouse and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Eowyn Fain. Our technical director is Damian Herring. (0:00) Iran War latest (1:52) Iran attacks (5:42) Graham & Senate (8:28) Congress returns See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Should we worry about the end of the world?

From climate change to the rise of AI - it’s hard not to feel like human civilization could be nearing the end. What threats are really worth worrying about? And what can we do to survive a global catastrophe? Today on The Sunday Story, Ben Bradford, host of the new NPR Network podcast Are We Doomed?, tells us what he’s learned about the end of the world. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]