Up First from NPR

Can Graham Platner survive another controversy? | NPR’s Newsmakers

Anti-establishment candidate Graham Platner seemingly came out of nowhere to become the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Senate seat in Maine. But his campaign has been dogged by controversies. There were the old, deleted Reddit posts in which he made racist comments and blamed sexual assault on victims. There was a now-covered tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol. And most recently, the Wall Street Journal reported [https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/graham-platners-wife-flagged-sexually-explicit-texts-to-his-senate-campaign-628ec832?msockid=1250da5121ed64983cbdcd0020816510] that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage. Taken together, they raise a big question. Does he have too much baggage to carry on? Or can his anti-establishment political message — that has generated SO much enthusiasm among the democratic base — carry him through? In this episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, Platner addresses earlier controversies, the failures of his own party and calls Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “insecure.” Platner says he aspires to a version of masculinity different from the one embodied by Hegseth. “This idea that you're supposed to use your strengths to use power over other people or to offend people, be mean to people — that somehow that's manly. That's not masculinity,” he says. “That's the act of a coward.” Platner sat down with host Leila Fadel before news broke of the explicit sexual messages. NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. New episodes drop as soon as they're available -- any day of the week. To stay caught up, follow the show on Spotify, subscribe on YouTube, or find Newsmakers on the NPR app. 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]

Israel Pushes Deeper Into Lebanon, Immigration Bill Stalled, Anti-Weaponization Fund

Israeli forces captured a 900-year-old castle in southern Lebanon in their deepest incursion into the country in 26 years, complicating U.S. efforts to reach a deal with Iran even as the two sides traded more strikes over the weekend. Congress returns from its Memorial Day break facing a stalled immigration funding bill that has become tangled up with President Trump’s push for an anti-weaponization fund and possible payments to January 6 defendants. And the Trump administration’s anti-weaponization fund is facing new legal hurdles after one judge temporarily blocked it and another judge raised questions about the settlement that created the nearly $1.8 billion settlement fund. 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, Mohamad ElBardicy and Lindsay Totty. It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Zo van Ginhoven. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. (0:00) Introduction (01:57) Israel Pushes Deeper Into Lebanon (05:37) Immigration Bill Stalled (08:58) Anti-weaponization Fund 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]

How 5 minutes of movement can change your life

Scientists say that sitting is the new smoking. The average American adult now sits for 9-10 hours per day. What’s the least amount of movement someone can do to offset the harms of our modern sedentary lifestyle? Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour podcast, has spent the last several years trying to answer that question. After collaborating with Columbia University Medical Center on a major study, she brings Ayesha the answer. 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]

Shangri-La Dialogue, Trump's Slush Fund, Gas Prices

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth talks Pacific security, the government reviews E. Jean Carroll's civil cases against President Trump, Costco and Walmart are selling more gasoline. 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]

Israel Ramps Up Attacks Amid Iran Talks, E. Jean Carroll Investigation, CBS Overhaul

Vice President Vance says the U.S. is very close to a deal with Iran to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Lebanon remains the main hurdle as Israel bombed Beirut again and is also expanding its control over Gaza.  The Justice Department is investigating writer E. Jean Carroll and the major Democratic donor who helped pay some of her legal bills against President Trump, part of a broader pattern of probes into the president’s perceived political adversaries. CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is asserting full control over the network, forcing out the longtime executive producer of 60 Minutes and several top correspondents as she tries to remake the network’s most prestigious program. 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, Emily Kopp, Mohamad ElBardicy and Lindsay Totty. It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor. (0:00) Introduction (01:57) Israel Ramps Up Attacks Amid Iran Talks (05:38) E. Jean Carroll Investigation (09:27) CBS Overhaul 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]