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Fri, 24 Oct 2025
The government shutdown is now the second longest in the nation’s history, and federal workers missed their first full paycheck this week. Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats seem to be going nowhere.
Following a federal court’s approval, the Trump administration is one legal hurdle away from getting the green light to send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon. And Trump reversed his decision to send troops to San Francisco after a conversation with the city’s mayor.
Plus, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to refuse to swear in newly-elected Arizona congresswoman Adelita Grijalva.
And, in global news, Israel returned the bodies of several hundred Palestinian prisoners this week. And the fragile ceasefire holds between Israel and Hamas holds; despite Israel killing more than 100 Palestinians and injuring at least 230 over the last two weeks.
Donald Trump says a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine has been called off.
And, days before President Trump is set to visit the country, Japan swears in its first-ever female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
We cover the most important stories from around the world on the News Roundup.
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Thu, 23 Oct 2025
A stroll down the supplement aisle is a walk filled with hope. One pill offers stronger hair and nails. Another promises better memory (which will help when you have to remember to take all these pills). And if you added just one more, you might be able to finally recapture the energy of your teenage years.
But how true are these claims? Currently, the Food and Drug Administration does not approve the contents or the labeling dietary supplements before they hit the shelves.
Around 75 percent of Americans take a supplement, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He once said he took so many vitamins he couldn’t remember them all. But RFK Jr., who champions supplements and other alternative medicines, is now pushing the FDA for stronger regulations.
What could that mean for the supplement industry? And why are so many Americans turning to health alternatives today?
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Wed, 22 Oct 2025
The ISS has been in low orbit above the earth for almost 25 years.
It’s played host to astronauts from around the world. But that’s about to come to an end.
NASA is gearing up to deorbit the ISS in 2030 and it’s working with private companies to begin development of commercial space stations to take its place.
What will that transition look like? And what does the commercialization of space hold for humanity in the near and far futures?
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Tue, 21 Oct 2025
Last year, Americans spent more than 300 billion minutes on navigation apps, like Waze or Google Maps.
The GPS systems in our pockets have come a long way from the first known map, carved into a mammoth tusk 30,000 years ago.
But even with satellites tracking us and the ever-changing Earth from the skies – digital maps aren’t fact. Errors can show up and are sometimes as old as maps themselves. The phantom island of Sandy Island appeared on Google Maps until 2012, when Australian scientists sailed to its supposed location and found only open ocean.
Mistakes on maps were sometimes intentional, sometimes not – but every single one tells a bigger story.
How and why did it get there? What does it reveal about the creator of the map and the world around them?
We sit down with Jay Foreman and Mark Cooper-Jones, better known as the Map Men on YouTube, to talk through these questions and more.
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Mon, 20 Oct 2025
The Trump administration has cut federal funding to colleges and universities it says don’t align with conservative priorities. And now, the White House says it will reward schools that follow in its ideological footsteps.
Earlier this month, the administration sent a list of demands to nine schools. Officials are calling it the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” Its stipulations include ending considerations of race and sex in admissions and hiring, capping international student enrollment, and limiting what faculty can say about certain issues.
Five institutions — Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia — have rejected the proposal. The others have yet to comment.
Trump’s compact is the latest chapter in the story of how his administration is trying to exert influence over higher education. In March, the White House canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University over allegations of antisemitism.
In this edition of “If You Can Keep It,” our weekly series on the state of democracy, we talk about higher education and what’s at stake if academic freedom is compromised.
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Fri, 17 Oct 2025
John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland this week.
Also, a federal judge in San Francisco halted the mass layoffs of federal workers by the Trump administration.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is now in its second week, as both sides hand over hostages and return the bodies of those captured during the conflict.
The United States continues to destroy boats off the coast of Venezuela as part of a supposed campaign against drug cartels.
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Thu, 16 Oct 2025
The Trump administration has decimated the Department of Education with staffing cuts.
Now, the latest round of layoffs all but wipes out the Office of Special Education Programs. So, what does that mean for the millions of kids who rely on these services?
We sit down to talk about how Education Department cuts will affect children with disabilities.
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Wed, 15 Oct 2025
Last month, the Trump administration started blowing up boats off the coast of Venezuela, calling it part of an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. The White House’s so-called “war on cartels” is increasingly centered on Venezuela, not Mexico or Haiti, where most of these organizations actually operate.
The president is linking these cartels to the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The South American strong man has indicated he’s ready to declare a state of emergency in his country if things progress much further.
So, are these actions about drugs, or are they really about regime change?
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Tue, 14 Oct 2025
As part of a special issue this November, The Atlantic tasked writers and historians with looking at the country’s founding era to find out what America’s political thinkers valued at its beginning.
The goal is to remind people in the U.S. about the abstract ideas enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other important revolutionary documents. And, how reconnecting with those ideals might help us as we struggle to keep American democracy together 250 years later.
We discuss this edition of The Atlantic with two of its contributing writers, hear about why the founding of the country is relevant today, and where we might be going next.
And we want to hear from you. How would you fill in the blanks for these four statements?
1. “At the founding of the United States, some of the country’s most important political values were BLANK.”
2. “After 250 years of U.S. history, I would describe the country’s *track record* of following through on those values and ideals as BLANK.”
3. “Right now, an outside observer would likely look at our politics and say we value BLANK.”
4. “When it comes to the United States as a country over the next decade or the next century, I want to see BLANK.”
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Mon, 13 Oct 2025
President Donald Trump promised to crackdown on immigration in Democratic-led cities using aggressive tactics like detaining people based on their race and deploying the National Guard to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
He deployed the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington D.C. this summer. He launched an ICE operation in Boston.
Now, he’s escalating his crackdowns in Chicago and Portland.ICE has made more than 1,000 arrests in Chicago according to the Department of Homeland Security since it began what it’s calling “Operation Midway Blitz” last month.
Nearly half of the FBI agents working in major U.S. offices have been reassigned to immigration enforcement, according to newly released bureau data. What does this radical shift in law enforcement priorities mean for the cities at the center of the president’s crackdown — and for the country more broadly?
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Fri, 10 Oct 2025
President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act this week.
He continues to clash with state and municipal authorities over the limits of his abilities to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into American cities.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are eyeing their Democratic counterparts, looking for someone from the opposition to join them in voting for a bill that would reopen the government, more than a week into a shutdown.
Former FBI Director James Comey was arraigned this week, pleading not guilty on Wednesday to charges that he lied to Congress, and saying he would move to have a court dismiss the case.
Meanwhile, the first phase of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas was agreed to this week. But questions remain over how both parties will move forward with the details of the agreement.
Despite a friendly summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump in Alaska in August, the Russian government is claiming that any headway made during that meeting has largely been undone.
And after just 28 days, Sébastien Lecornu’s time as France’s prime minister came to an end this week. He’s President Macron’s fifth government leader to head for the exit in less than two years.
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Wed, 08 Oct 2025
It’s been two years since Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and seized more than 250 hostages from inside Israel.
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory war. On Monday, Israeli and Hamas negotiators met in Egypt to discuss President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza.
Over the weekend, thousands of Israeli citizens took to the streets in Tel Aviv in support of a deal to release the hostages and end the war in Gaza.
What do we know about the U.S.-backed plan to end the war in Gaza? And what does this plan mean for Israelis and Palestinians two years into this conflict?
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Tue, 07 Oct 2025
The Supreme Court begins its new term this week.
It’s agreed to hear cases on several hot button issues like tariffs, trans athletes in sports, and the use of presidential power.
The rulings could change constitutional precedent as we know it. What’s at stake in these cases?
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Mon, 06 Oct 2025
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlined some stark changes to the U.S. military’s policies and norms at last week’s gathering of its top brass.
From new standards that question the fitness of women in combat roles, to deploying the military to U.S. cities, the White House is outlining a new vision for the armed forces. It’s also looking to eliminate existing channels to report abuse and harassment within the ranks and implement random polygraph tests.
We talk through all these changes, how they affect our troops, and what they mean for civilians.
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Sat, 04 Oct 2025
After Congress failed to reach an agreement to keep the doors in Washington open, the government has shut down.
This comes as tens of thousands of federal workers are set to exit the federal payroll due to firings and deferred buyout agreements.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called all military generals to Quantico, Virginia, to listen to an address about his vision for the armed forces.
President Donald Trump said he plans on sending troops to Portland, Oregon, to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents working there.
Meanwhile, overseas, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a 20-point plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza.
Following multiple Russian incursions into NATO airspace, the alliance has stepped up its drone defense, with Ukraine sharing its expertise with Denmark.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is ready to declare a state of emergency, as the U.S. military builds up presence in the Caribbean.
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Thu, 02 Oct 2025
How does hatred towards women relate to violence?
We’ve seen more than a few incidents of political extremism and mass violence in the U.S. over the last few years.
In the days, weeks, and months after acts like these, we seek motives. We try to understand why violence is perpetrated in hopes of preventing it in the future.
One expert argues that in that search for answers – we’re missing something crucial. Something that keeps us from addressing this violence and extremism head on. That blind spot is misogyny.
We sit down with Cynthia Miller-Idriss. She is a sociologist and founding director of the Polarization and Extremism Research & Innovation Lab, or PERIL at American University. She’s also the author of “Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism.” She joins us to talk about her book and latest research.
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Wed, 01 Oct 2025
The White House is continuing its mission to hollow out the federal workforce.
The Trump administration has signaled that it will use the government shutdown to prompt and encourage mass resignations and layoffs.
More than 150,000 federal employees plan to leave the U.S. government payroll this week. It’s the largest single-year exodus of federal workers since World War II.
For workers who opted into the deferred exit program, those resignations began on Tuesday. Workers who didn’t take the buyouts were recently threatened with dismissal.
We check in on the state of the federal workforce.
What happens now that tens of thousands of these employees are leaving? And what’s life like for those who remain?
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Tue, 30 Sep 2025
Many of us know that being outside feels good.
Maybe it’s for a short walk to the store. Maybe for a hike at a nearby mountain. Or maybe spending time at the beach with loved ones for a holiday.
But did you know that a short walk in nature can improve your attention span by 20 percent? And that even fake plants have been shown to deliver health benefits?
There are real benefits to surrounding yourself with the natural world.
We sit down with the pioneer of environmental neuroscience, Marc Berman. He’s out with a new book all about the science behind the benefits spending time outside called “Nature and the Mind.”
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Tue, 30 Sep 2025
NATO’s airspace is busy these days. And not in a good way. That’s especially true for member nations on the alliance’s eastern flank.
It’s not supposed to be that way. In recent weeks, states like Poland, Estonia, Romania, and Denmark have seen drones or other aircraft violate their airspace. In some cases, these airborne craft clearly identify they’re Russian in origin.
Multiple countries have called on NATO to consult about what to do next. So, what’s going on? What is Russia up to?
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Mon, 29 Sep 2025
President Donald Trump has, according to many legal experts, crossed the Rubicon.
After years of railing against his perceived enemies and publicly threatening to use the government for revenge, he’s pressured the Justice Department to bring charges against someone he hates despite warnings from top prosecutors.
Late last week, a grand jury narrowly indicted former FBI Director James Comey on allegations that he lied to Congress in 2020. The 5-year statute of limitations was set to expire on Tuesday.
So, how independent is the DOJ? And how much independence should it have? We talk about how the Justice Department is treating Trump’s enemies and also how it’s treated his friends.
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Fri, 26 Sep 2025
A gunman opened fire at an ICE detention facility in Dallas leaving one person dead and two more injured.
All three of the victims were detainees and no ICE agents were hurt. The shooter was found dead according to senior law enforcement officials.
Late night host Jimmy Kimmel returned to the air on ABC this week. He was suspended after he made comments concerning the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The deadline to pass the government funding bill is fast approaching. The Trump White House is threatening mass firings if the government does shuts down.
And, in global news, President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week. In a nearly hour-long speech, he attacked the U.N., criticized the immigration policies of its member states, and called climate awareness the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”
Spanish and Italian frigates were sent to protect the Global Sumud Flotilla. The boats carrying aid were attacked by drones on Tuesday.
And in a meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Donald Trump said Ukraine could win back all its territory taken by Russia with NATO assistance.
We cover the most important stories here and around the globe in the News Roundup.
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Thu, 25 Sep 2025
More than 50 years ago, President Richard Nixon declared war on cancer when he signed the National Cancer Act in 1971.
Since then, the United States has emerged as a juggernaut in cancer research, funded largely by the government.
But since President Donald Trump took office in January, the administration’s sweeping cuts to the federal workforce and government funding are upending the country’s research system.
So, how are these funding and staffing cuts affecting cancer research and treatment? And how could they impact our progress towards scientific breakthroughs?
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Wed, 24 Sep 2025
A record number of people are being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
And the conditions they’re reporting have been described as cruel and inhumane.Last month, 60,000 people were detained by ICE, breaking a record set by the previous Trump administration.
A Los Angeles Times analysis of public data found that more than a third of detainees have spent time in a dedicated facility that is over capacity.
And now, county jails and ICE field offices are being transformed to fill those gaps.
Jails held an average of about 10 percent of all detainees (7,100 people) each day in July, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.
So, what fallout is the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown having on ICE detention centers? What are the conditions in these centers like? And what legal options do detainees have?
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Mon, 22 Sep 2025
It happens every year — sometimes even more frequently than that.
A fight is brewing over funding the government before a deadline at the end of September. On Friday, Republicans in the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, passed a stop-gap measure to fund the government through Nov. 21.
This is all happening against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s summer of immigration raids, the deployment of the National Guard to Washington D.C., and the claw back of approved federal funding.
In this installment of 1A‘s weekly politics series, we talk about how this month’s government funding fight could turn into a shutdown, and what Democrats could demand in exchange for keeping the government open.
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Fri, 19 Sep 2025
In a blow to free speech, TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was suspended from ABC’s lineup after the comedian made jokes about President Donald Trump’s relationship with the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The 22-year-old suspect in Kirk’s killing was charged on Tuesday in Utah County with aggravated murder. The state is seeking the death penalty.
This week the president announced the National Guard will be deployed to Memphis, Tennessee.
Meanwhile, a United Nations commission concluded that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza against the Palestinian people.
The UK rolled out the red carpet for President Trump during his visit with the royal family and Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In a press conference at the conclusion of the trip Trump said the two governments were making ties “closer than ever before.”
Following recent Russian drone incursions in its own airspace, Poland suggests the European Union should set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
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Fri, 19 Sep 2025
Fourteen people are dead after the U.S. military launched strikes on two Venezuelan boats this month in international waters. President Donald Trump says they were heading towards the U.S.
That’s despite reports from several agencies saying the boat attacked two weeks ago was headed away from the U.S. when it was hit. Trump is also accusing the boats of being connected to Venezuelan drug trafficking cartels that he says posed a threat to the U.S.
Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, says the U.S. is trying to start a war.
We discuss the stakes and what we know about the situation.
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Thu, 18 Sep 2025
FBI Director Kash Patel appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for a second day of questioning by lawmakers.
He faced questions about his leadership of the bureau including the firing of dozens of FBI agents and officials, the release of investigative files related to alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and the shooting of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk.
Patel began his hearings on Wednesday by defending the agency under his leadership.
What were some of the biggest takeaways from the the hearing?
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Wed, 17 Sep 2025
Various states in the U.S. are locked in a fight over redistricting.
It’s all centered on which party will keep the House next year. Republicans now have a slim majority, 219 seats to 213.
It started this summer when President Donald Trump asked Republicans in Texas to redraw the state’s congressional maps early. The goal he said, was to improve Republicans’ shot at winning five more seats in the House of Representatives during the 2026 midterm elections. After a standoff with Democrats in the state legislature, Republicans passed a map that did just that.
Democrats in California, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, responded with their own map. It’s a redraw aimed at giving Democrats five more seats in the House. Newsom signed that bill into law in late August, saying it would “neutralize” what happened in Texas. Unlike Texas, California’s map goes to the voters this November for approval. It would last through the 2030 elections.
But the redistricting fights don’t end there. Another GOP effort is nearing the finish line in Missouri. Republicans pushed a new map that will set them up to win seven seats instead of the usual six. Democrats currently hold two House seats in Missouri.
Missouri Senate Republicans passed their redistricting bill on Friday. Now, it’s at the desk of Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe for his signature. So, what does this mean for the state, the Democrats, and the midterms?
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Tue, 16 Sep 2025
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer broke the norm when he handed President Donald Trump an invitation for a second state visit.
The pomp begins on Wednesday, and leadership across the pond is making no secret of its intention to woo President Trump. But there’s more on the docket than making nice – and more at stake, too.
What does the visit mean for both the U.S. And the UK?
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Mon, 15 Sep 2025
On Friday, law enforcement authorities announced the arrest of a 22-year-old for the shooting death of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, a Trump ally and the co-founder of Turning Point USA, died after being shot at an event at Utah Valley University. He was speaking to a large crowd at an outdoor “Prove Me Wrong” debate, where he invited students to challenge his political and cultural views.
At a press conference, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox asked Americans to consider what happens from here – an escalation or an off ramp.
Kirk’s killing is the latest in a spate of rising political violence across the country. A Minnesota state legislator was murdered in her home in June. The Pennsylvania governor’s house was set on fire in April. And last year on the campaign trail, Donald Trump faced two assassination attempts.
Experts who study political violence say the frequency and seriousness is increasing significantly. So, how did we get here. And is it possible to pull back? We examine the effect political violence has on the health of our democracy.
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Fri, 12 Sep 2025
Republican provocateur and online personality Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while hosting an event at Utah Valley University this week. Despite authorities searching for the person responsible, no suspects are in custody.
Donald Trump’s takeover of the Washington D.C. police department expired Thursday evening. Trump signaled that he would seek an extension, but that desire has reportedly cooled.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to harm Hamas, Israel bombed the Qatari capital of Doha this week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled that he and his forces are prepared to do so again despite a rare condemnation of Israeli military strategy by the U.S.
Poland invoked NATO’s Article 4 this week after Russian drones entered its airspace, leading to consultations between representatives of the alliances member nations.
France’s government has collapsed again. Now, President Emmanuel Macron has appointed outgoing defense minister Sébastien Lecornu as the country’s next prime minister.
We get into all this and more during this week’s News Roundup.
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Thu, 11 Sep 2025
The nation’s patchwork system of abortion laws is once again being challenged.
This time, opponents are targeting telehealth abortions. That’s when a provider in a state where abortion is legal meets virtually with a patient and sends them pills to take at home.
Those patients come from states all over the country – even those with abortion bans. A quarter of all abortions in the U.S. are done via telehealth. That’s according to a June report from the Society of Family Planning.
Now, attorneys general in Texas and Louisiana are suing a doctor in New York for prescribing pills to patients in their states, where abortion is almost completely banned. New York is one of several states that’s enacted shield laws after Roe was overturned. These statutes ban cooperation with other states’ attempts to enforce abortion bans.
Now that this has evolved into a battle between states, the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in soon. Their decision could drastically change access to abortion nationwide.
So, what’s at stake in this case? And how did states’ rights become the latest flashpoint in the battle over abortion access?
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Wed, 10 Sep 2025
What’s behind Donald Trump’s ongoing battle with the Federal Reserve? That’s the question on some analysts minds as the White House proposes staff shakeups at the historically independent central bank.
Trump has been attempting to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook since Aug. 25. Cook was nominated by Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2022.
The administration is attempting to fire her based on allegations that she committed mortgage fraud before joining the Fed – that’s despite the fact that she hasn’t been convicted or charged with any crime.
On Tuesday night, a federal judge temporarily blocked the president from removing Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. She’ll continue to serve as she contests her dismissal.
The Fed has operated independently since its inception more than a century ago. How do the Trump administration’s proposed changes threaten that independence? And what effect could changes at the Fed have on the U.S. economy?
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Tue, 09 Sep 2025
President Donald Trump has tested the limits of the law since the day he took office at the start his second term.
This includes signing an executive order to end birthright citizenship, terminating or freezing billions of dollars in federal funding, and enacting sweeping tariffs on foreign goods without congressional approval.
But these actions have not been met with silence.
Over the last eight months, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed by state attorneys, physicians, media organizations, international students, and others to challenge the Trump administration’s policies.
We check in on major lawsuits against the administration. Where do they stand now? What do they mean for our country’s system of checks and balances?
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Mon, 08 Sep 2025
In recent weeks, we’ve seen a seismic shakeup inside the Department of Health and Human Services and unprecedented discord between the agency, scientists, and doctors.
HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. is bucking the science-backed guidance of physicians on vaccines. That’s angered some Democrats. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren went after Kennedy over his pseudoscientific approach to running the agency during a Senate hearing Thursday.
So, what happens when political ideology outweighs medical consensus?
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Fri, 05 Sep 2025
Jobs numbers are out. They indicate a stalling labor market, with U.S. employers adding just 22,000 jobs in August and unemployment rising to 4.3 percent.
After rumors about the president’s supposedly failing health swirled online last weekend, Donald Trump appeared in public at a press conference this week announcing the relocation of the Space Force headquarters from Colorado to Alabama.
Florida announced this week that it’s set to become the first state in the U.S. to end vaccine mandates in schools, including for young children.
The leaders of China, India, Russia met this week in a display of friendship meant to signal unity to the world. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping convened in China for a summit of powers not aligned with the West.
Meanwhile, Putin told officials in Kyiv he was willing to try and negotiate the end the war in Ukraine should “common sense prevail.” However, he also threatened that he was prepared to continue should he not find terms agreeable.
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Thu, 04 Sep 2025
Every August, New York City becomes the headquarters for all things tennis thanks to the U.S. Open.And a lot has happened for the sport in the Big Apple.
This year marks 75 since Althea Gibson broke the tennis color barrier at the tournament.
So, ahead of the finals this weekend, we sit down with a panel of experts to talk about the biggest takeaways from this year’s event and the future of the sport.
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Wed, 03 Sep 2025
A 6.0 earthquake hit Afghanistan on Sunday night leaving more than 1,400 dead and at least 3,000 injured.
Rescue crews struggled to reach affected villages in remote areas of the country’s Kunar Province as powerful aftershocks continued to rattle the area.
All of this is happening in a country already reeling from deep cuts to aid funding, a struggling economy, and an influx of millions of Afghans forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan.
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Wed, 03 Sep 2025
Congress returned to the Capitol on Tuesday after their month-long summer break. They’re already in a time crunch.
Lawmakers have around four weeks – or around just 14 legislative days – to pass a spending measure and avoid a government shutdown before Sept. 30.
Tensions between Republicans and Democrats are high. After the passages of President Donald Trump’s spending and rescission bills, Democrats say they are ready for a fight. But the potential for being blamed for a government shutdown also puts them in a tough spot.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the ball is in the Democrats’ court, but will Republicans play ball at all?
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Tue, 02 Sep 2025
Donald Trump says the office of the president gives him the right to deploy the National Guard to U.S. states. But does it? And who decides?
The president signed an executive order last week calling for a restructuring of the National Guard. It also asks the nation’s defense secretary to create a rapid response force to be deployed to states for “quelling civil disturbances and ensuring public safety.”
Meanwhile, Trump says the city of Chicago is in need of National Guard presence due to a rise in crime. But the president has declined to say how the federal government can intervene outside of D.C., a federal enclave.
Violent crime in Chicago is on a decline. In the first half of 2025, gun violence is down 25 percent compared to last year and down 41 percent from the average reported between 2020 and 2024. That data is from the CBS News Chicago Gun Violence Tracker.
What could that deployment look like? And what has the response been from city officials?
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Sun, 31 Aug 2025
We love talking about food at 1A. From the latest cookbooks to answering your questions about your favorite foods.
As a holiday weekend treat and a fond look back at summer, we bring you highlights from an episode of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio Podcast. The team discusses grilling and answer listener questions.
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Fri, 29 Aug 2025
A shooter opened fire in a Minneapolis church on Wednesday, injuring 17 people and killing two children. Parishioners and students were gathered at a Mass marking the first week of school
A federal grand jury in the nation’s capital this week declined to indict a man who threw a sandwich at a federal officer in Washington DC.
Emails between top Florida officials show that they expect the state’s newest immigration detention facility, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” to be emptied in the coming weeks. The White House is fighting a judge’s order to shut it down.
Israeli and U.S. officials met this week in Washington to discuss plans for post-war Gaza. This comes as the Israeli military expands the offensive in Gaza City and they come under fire for a “double-tap” bombing of a hospital.
In the war in Ukraine, both sides are attacking energy resources. In Europe, leaders sit down to try and negotiate peace in the region.
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Thu, 28 Aug 2025
It’s been two decades since Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, making landfall in the city as a Category 3 storm. The massive storm surge broke through levees and the flood walls.
Some 80 percent of New Orleans flooded. Entire neighborhoods were wiped out. The official death toll totaled nearly 1,400 people. And what happened in the storm’s wake changed the face of emergency response in this country forever.
We mark 20 years since Hurricane Katrina hit. We take you back to that time, look at what rebuilding has meant for New Orleans, and what lessons were learned.
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Wed, 27 Aug 2025
President Donald Trump is ramping up his attacks on the Federal Reserve.
On Monday, the president posted orders on Truth Social to remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook – effective immediately. The president claims she committed mortgage fraud, an allegation first raised by a Trump loyalist and housing official.
Cook, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, responded in a statement saying that Trump has no authority to remove her and that she will continue her duties. Cook has not been charged with a crime.
It’s an unprecedented move that puts into question the independence of the central bank. So, what comes next and what does this mean for the Fed?
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Mon, 25 Aug 2025
Another Friday, another move against a perceived enemy of the president.
Last week, the FBI searched the Maryland home and Washington office of President Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton.
Since he was fired from the administration during Trump’s first term, Bolton has turned into one of the president’s most vocal critics.
Vice President JD Vance confirmed in an interview that aired this weekend that this raid was in part connected to a criminal investigation over Bolton’s handling of classified documents and information.
What does this investigation say about the priorities of the Justice Department in Trump’s second term?
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Mon, 25 Aug 2025
"Corrupt" is the word President Trump is using, without evidence, to describe mail-in voting. It's how almost one third of Americans cast their ballots in the last election.
States including Florida and Pennsylvania also saw recent jumps in GOP mail-in ballots, after President Trump in his campaign called for votes by any means possible, including by mail.
And while mail-in voting has historically favored Democrats, there is no evidence of the fraud Trump is claiming. But his push to end it fits a pattern: our President wants to change how elections are run in the United States.
In this installment of our weekly series, “If You Can Keep It,” we get to the issue right at the very heart of U.S. democracy: the ability to cast a ballot in free and fair elections.
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Fri, 22 Aug 2025
President Donald Trump is continuing his efforts to influence the Federal Reserve.
He’s calling on one of its governors to resign, publicly criticized Chair Jerome Powell, and is trying to fast-track a close ally onto the board.
The White House continued its campaign against the Smithsonian Institution this week. Its given museums 120 days to adjust any content that the administration finds problematic in “tone, historical framing and alignment with American ideals.”
In a break from the federal guidance under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the American Academy of Pediatrics released updated recommendations this week that urge COVID-19 vaccinations for infants and young children.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov questioned whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even has the authority to sign a “peace deal” for the war in his country at all.
Israel’s military says they’ve taken the first steps in their planned operation to take over and occupy Gaza City. On Thursday, they ramped up their attacks in a move that could displace close to one million Palestinians.
Haitian police are deploying drones armed with explosives in an attempt to fight back against gangs that control the majority of the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
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Fri, 22 Aug 2025
ChatGPT has at least 500 million weekly users. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says that number is growing extraordinarily fast.
When the chatbot went through an update a couple weeks ago, it brought to light how many users were relying on AI for their emotional wellbeing and even as a companion.
People using AI for intimate, personal reasons is a phenomenon that we are only beginning to understand.
There are reports of AI inducing delusional thinking and even psychosis. One survey by Sentio University found that 63 percent of people involved said AI improved their mental health.
With such a powerful tool being privy to our deepest secrets, what guardrails exist to protect users’ wellbeing and privacy? Why are so many people leaning on artificial intelligence for connection in the first place?
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Thu, 21 Aug 2025
Nearly 43 million Americans have federal student loan debt. Their borrowing totals more than $1.8 trillion. That’s according to the Education Data Initiative.
Now, the federal student loan system is facing significant changes under the Trump administration.
One of the biggest differences is the end of the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE plan, started by President Joe Biden. The income-driven program offers low monthly payments and an expedited path to loan forgiveness.
Republicans challenged the plan in court where it’s still tied up, leaving the 7.7 million enrollees in limbo.
How is the Trump administration overhauling the federal student loan system? And what does this mean for the tens of millions of current and future borrowers?
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Tue, 19 Aug 2025
President Donald Trump gave Vladimir Putin what the Russian leader wanted during their meeting in Alaska last week.
Now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is back in the U.S. for more talks. His last visit to the White House was disastrous, to say the least. This time, he’s bringing key European leaders with him to meet with Trump.
What does the future of the conflict in his country look like? And what’s changed for Trump since his meeting with Putin?
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Mon, 18 Aug 2025
President Donald Trump and his administration want control over exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution.
In a letter sent Aug. 12, three White House officials told the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie G. Bunch III, that the administration would conduct a review at certain Smithsonian museums.
The goal? To “celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
In this installment of our politics series, “If You Can Keep It,” we talk about how the administration is injecting itself into the affairs – and the exhibits – of the Smithsonian Institution and what that means for our understanding of our shared history.
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Fri, 15 Aug 2025
President Donald Trump put the police force in Washington D.C. under federal control.
He also called in the National Guard and ICE to patrol the streets. The Justice Department says last year violent crime in the District of Columbia hit a 30-year low.
Cuts to the social safety net are set to leave some 2.4 million Americans without access to the food stamps they were entitled to before the passage of the spending bill earlier this year.
And, in global news, Israel killed four journalists working for Al Jazeera in a targeted strike on the tent in which they were staying in Gaza. Also this week, Israeli soldiers shot 25 people seeking aid in Gaza as Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu claims he’ll “allow” Palestinians to leave during an upcoming offensive in the Strip.
A sit down takes place this week between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he will not exchange land for peace.
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Thu, 14 Aug 2025
President Donald Trump has taken over Washington D.C.’s police force and deployed the National Guard in the capital.
The president took over the city’s police department for 30 days, and says he wants Congress to grant him “long-term” control of the force.
All this in the name of public safety, despite the fact that D.C.'s violent crime rate is at a 30-year low.
He says he might do the same in places like Los Angeles, Chicago and Baltimore.
We get into what it all means for our nation’s capital and beyond.
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Wed, 13 Aug 2025
The U.S. undertakes the census every 10 years. Hundreds of thousands of Census workers set out to count everyone living in the U.S., regardless of their citizenship status.
That data is used to reallocate seats in the House of Representatives, redraw voting districts on the local level, and decide how federal funds should be allocated in each state.
The next one is 5 years away, and President Donald Trump wants to make big changes to the 2030 count – by excluding noncitizens.
Why does it matter who’s counted in the Census? How would making changes to it influence the life of every person living in the U.S.?
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Tue, 12 Aug 2025
Commander and Astronaut James A. Lovell, Jr. – died Thursday at the age of 97. He was one of the three-man Apollo 13 spacecraft crew that set for the moon in April 1970.
In 1970, the Apollo 13 spacecraft launched from the Kennedy Space Center. It captured the world's attention as America's third attempt to get to the moon. But after only two days, an explosion crippled the spacecraft and changed its mission: Get home safely.
The three astronauts onboard, and dozens of flight controllers on Earth, labored for days to solve one challenge after another.
Captain Jim Lovell commanded that mission—after a series of historical firsts with his flights on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, and Apollo 8.
In 2020, 1A's Todd Zwillich spoke to the captain about that historic flight on its 50th anniversary. We revisit the conversation.
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Mon, 11 Aug 2025
An extraordinary fight is underway in Texas over redistricting.
And it’s turning into a showdown that has nationwide implications for the House of Representatives. The situation paints another stroke in a portrait of a president who hasn’t been shy about his desire to consolidate power and shore up GOP prospects ahead of the 2026 midterms.
So, what kicked this off? Last week more than 50 Democratic lawmakers fled the state to break quorum and prevent their state House vote on new redrawn congressional maps. The Democrats’ revolt, threats of retaliation, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s threats have intensified the fight and sparked a national conversation.
In this installment of our politics series, “If You Can Keep It,” we discuss the fight over redistricting in Texas what it means for the state of our democracy.
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Fri, 08 Aug 2025
After months of delays, President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs went into effect on Thursday.
A planned strategy meeting among top Trump administration officials whether to release the transcript from the Department of Justice interview with Ghislaine Maxwell was cancelled.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government considers a total takeover of the Gaza strip. The UN warns the move could risk "catastrophic consequences."
Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of Donald Trump's Friday deadline for peace in Ukraine.
And Rwanda has agreed to accept 250 migrants from the United States becoming the latest nation to strike a deal to take in Trump administration deportees.
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Thu, 07 Aug 2025
The president of the United States fired the head of the government's main economic statistics agency after a recent report showed a less than positive picture of U.S. employment.
The civil servant President Donald Trump fired was former Commissioner of Labor Statistics Erika McEntarfer, a labor economist nominated to the role in 2023 by President Joe Biden. The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed her in 2024. Commissioners often serve under multiple presidents.
The president defended his reasoning for the firing on social media – though he didn't provide evidence to back up his claims.
We discuss the consequences when the president fires the person at the head of the government's main agency for economic statistics.
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Wed, 06 Aug 2025
Who do high profile people or companies facing a scandal call when they're in a crisis?
Maybe their therapists. But definitely a crisis communications specialist.
Like the work of Olivia Pope in the T-V series Scandal, crisis communications is the practice of shaping public perception and reputation during a crisis. And it's a vital tool for maintaining people's reputations in today's digital landscape.
For the latest installment of our "Ask A" series, we sit down with three crisis communications specialists and pull back the curtain on the little-known part of the PR industry.
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Wed, 06 Aug 2025
Abraham Lincoln was the first U.S. president to sport a beard. For the next 50 years, whiskers were commonplace in the White House. But then, they went out of style.
Now, Vice President JD Vance is the first executive branch leader in more than a century with a furry face.
And others are following suit. From the Senate to the campaign trail, more and more men in politics are letting their facial hair grow free. But what does that tell us about masculinity, power, and how we see each other?
We discuss why politicians remained bare faced for so long, and what the reemergence of whiskers in the White House represents.
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Tue, 05 Aug 2025
The controversial immigration detention center — dubbed by Florida officials and the Trump administration, "Alligator Alcatraz"-- has already hit some legal snags since opening earlier this month.
Civil rights groups are suing the Trump administration over due process complaints. The lawsuit alleges detainees are being held without charges and aren't being given access to their attorneys.
It comes after reports of overcrowded cells, overflowing toilets, and no access to prescription medications.
The center was constructed in only eight days at an airport in the Everglades. Three weeks after it opened, around 100 people have already been deported straight from the center.
We discuss the legal rights of those held in immigration detention centers and what's happening inside the one in the Everglades.
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Fri, 01 Aug 2025
The White House took a victory lap this week as President Donald Trump secured a trade deal with the European Union. The agreement sees goods imported to the U.S. subjected to a 15 percent tariff.
As the Jeffrey Epstein scandal continues to unfold, this week President Trump claimed that the New York financier "stole" young women working at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
American workers are beginning to notice how Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration is affecting the country's industry, with factories hit particularly hard.
World leaders are reacting to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims there is no starvation happening in Gaza, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his country will recognize Palestine as a state if Israel does not end the starvation in Gaza.
Despite initially setting a 50-day deadline for an end to the war in Ukraine, President Trump issued an ultimatum Russian President Vladimir Putin. He now expects the war to be over off in 10 to 12 days.
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Thu, 31 Jul 2025
Experts say a "worst-case" famine scenario is unfolding across the Gaza Strip.
That's according to a new report published this week by a U.N.-backed commission that tracks food security worldwide.
The starvation in Gaza is reawakening global attention to hunger crises unfolding around the world.
Elsewhere in the world: most of Haiti's population is experiencing critical levels of food insecurity. That's when people don't have access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development. And in Sudan, famine grips tens of millions of people.
We examine how humanitarian aid factors into the equation.
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Thu, 31 Jul 2025
Across the country, K-12 teachers are prepping classrooms, reviewing lesson plans, and bracing for another school year that, for some, feels politically and personally charged.
The Department of Education is slowly being dismantled by the Trump administration. In some districts, immigration officials have shown up at schools, which likely contributed to a rise in student absences last spring. And artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping what both teaching and learning look like.
We hear directly from educators and what's at the top of their minds as they head into the new school year.
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Tue, 29 Jul 2025
In this Trump administration it's another day, another deadline, another deal. On Monday, the president issued an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
With this revised deadline, the president now wants peace efforts to make progress within 10 to 12 days. There has been little reaction from the Kremlin.
We discuss how the U.S. ultimatum could change the course of the conflict. With Volodymyr Zelensky facing challenges both on the frontlines and in governance, we discuss the impact this could this have on his way forward.
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Mon, 28 Jul 2025
Last week, more than 100 aid and human rights groups warned that Gaza is at risk of "mass starvation."
They signed an appeal demanding Israel allow food shipments into the territory. On Saturday, Israel's military announced airdrops of aid began in Gaza and that humanitarian corridors will be established.
Among those starving in the besieged strip are members of the press. Palestinian journalists are working for outlets around the world because Israel has barred international reporters from traveling to the area. Now, several news organizations are warning their employees in Gaza will die unless something changes.
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Mon, 28 Jul 2025
How does the public know what's happening in the federal government, especially when it's information the government doesn't want to share?
That's where whistleblowers come in. But in 2025, the Trump administration is cracking down on these brave folks and the journalists telling their stories.
In this installment of our politics series, "If You Can Keep It," we discuss weakening whistleblower protections under President Trump and what this means for those who rely on the information they share.
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Sat, 26 Jul 2025
New reporting in The Wall Street Journal indicates that the FBI told President Donald Trump in May that his name was mentioned in the Epstein Files. Congressional Republicans have mostly shrugged off the news. Speaker Mike Johnson shuts down the House for the summer.
Meanwhile, the European Union and at least 28 governments are criticizing Israel for "drip feeding" Palestinians in Gaza, as starvation grows worse in the Strip. More than 110 people have now died from hunger.
Reports indicate that Russian officials have involved teenagers as they test and deploy drones into Ukraine. Daily drone warfare has increased, as Russian president Putin inches towards a deadline imposed by President Trump to end the fighting.
The Trump administration withdraws the U.S. from UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, just two years after rejoining.
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Thu, 24 Jul 2025
President Donald Trump has nominated loyal associates to influential positions over and over. But one recent pick for the federal bench has legal experts and many lawmakers particularly up in arms.
The Senate voted Tuesday to begin considering former Trump defense attorney Emil Bove for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals judge for the Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Bove, the president's former defense attorney and now a senior Justice Department official, was the subject of a recent whistleblower complaint. According to that complaint, Bove suggested defying court orders to advance Trump's immigration agenda.
Democrats and at least one Republican have vowed to do everything possible to keep him from being confirmed. We discuss who Bove is and the implications for the judiciary if his nomination goes through.
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Wed, 23 Jul 2025
Medicaid is a cornerstone of the American health care system. The program provides insurance to more than 70 million low-income people and people with disabilities.
Now, addiction experts and nursing home leaders are sounding the alarm over cuts in President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill.
When the cuts occur, Medicaid will lose $1 trillion over the next 10 years and over 11 million Americans will become uninsured by 2034. That's according to estimates by The Congressional Budget Office.
We discuss what these cuts mean for some of the most vulnerable Americans.
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Tue, 22 Jul 2025
President Donald Trump is suing the publisher and owner of the Wall Street Journal and seeking damages of $10 billion for defamation.
Last week, the paper published an article describing a letter Trump sent to disgraced, self-styled financier Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. That letter reportedly included a lewd drawing. The president says — without evidence — that he didn't write the letter. The Journal's publisher says they will defend against the lawsuit.
In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote the lawsuit was filed "not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media."
We discuss the president's legal action — and the threat of it — against the media.
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Tue, 22 Jul 2025
Duunnn dunnn... duuuunnnn duun.
Odds are you probably know what that line references without having to click the link. And there's a good reason for that.
Sharks have been around for nearly 450 million years – a lot longer than humans. And in the relatively short time we've shared the planet with them, they've become a part of some of our most treasured pop culture moments. But that also means they've fallen victim to pop culture narratives.
Since the release of "Jaws" in 1975, sharks – especially great white sharks – have endured a reputation as aggressive and violent. But however we're thinking about them on land, they're struggling to survive at sea.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, nearly a third of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction – with overfishing and harmful fishing practices at the top of the list of hazards.
We get into all things sharks, from the so-called "Jaws-effect," to all the things we get wrong about this fascinating fish.
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Mon, 21 Jul 2025
This month, two Supreme Court decisions allowed the Trump administration to move forward with significant federal layoffs, including many at the Departments of Education and State.
The State Department laid off senior intelligence analysts specializing in Russia and Ukraine, right as the U.S. ramps up its maneuvering to encourage Vladimir Putin to agree to a peace deal.
And at the Department of Education, the Federal Student Aid office, responsible for administering student loans and Pell Grants, lost hundreds of people.
We break down both situations.
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Fri, 18 Jul 2025
The Senate approves President Trump's rescission package.
Donald Trump has spent much of the week admonishing members of his MAGA base for raising the alert about his administration's failure to release information about Jeffrey Epstein.
At least 20 people were crushed to death at Gaza Humanitarian Fund aid distribution site in Khan Younis.
And Britain lowers its voting age, in the largest expansion of voting rights in the country in decades.
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Fri, 18 Jul 2025
Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit donate.npr.org now.
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Thu, 17 Jul 2025
In his rescissions request to Congress last month, President Donald Trump asked that the hundreds of millions dollars budgeted for the President's Emergency Plans for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, be cancelled.
Senate Republicans have decided that PEPFAR is safe from cuts for now, but those fighting the global epidemic are worried.
We talk about what these funding cuts would mean for those actually doing the research, and more importantly, for those living with HIV.
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Wed, 16 Jul 2025
One of the biggest cuts included in President Donald Trump's recent tax and spending bill is to Medicaid, the federal program that provides health insurance to low-income Americans and people with disabilities. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it would lose $1 trillion over the next ten years.
Republicans say these changes address fraud and waste in the Medicaid program. But some rural hospitals and states warn it could have devastating effects.
We break down what those changes mean for you.
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Tue, 15 Jul 2025
Donald Trump is growing impatient with Russian President Vladimir Putin, publicly lamenting earlier this week the fact that Russia hasn't agreed to a peace deal with Ukraine.
Trump also promised new tariffs if a peace deal doesn't come in 50 days. New sanctions are on the table, too.
With NATO's secretary general, Mark Rutte, by his side, Trump also announced the U.S. would help Europe send more weapons to Ukraine. Under the arrangement, NATO would buy American weapons and pass them to Kyiv.
We discuss what U.S. support for Ukraine means for the conflict.
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Mon, 14 Jul 2025
On July 4, 2026, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
President Donald Trump kicked off the countdown to the anniversary at a rally in Iowa – right as Congress passed his sweeping domestic policy bill.
But how has this country's identity changed in 250 years? And what innovations – in science, technology, and democracy – have led us to this moment?
In this installment of If You Can Keep It, we discuss what can we learn about the future of American innovation and democracy through its past.
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Fri, 11 Jul 2025
Search crews and volunteers continue to scour miles along the Guadalupe River for the dozens of people still missing after deadly Texas flooding last week.
President Trump's reciprocal tariffs are put on hold, again. And while the president calls the U.S the "hottest" country in the world, economists and industry experts warn his policies are positioning the country to be less competitive on the global stage.
Meanwhile, President Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize once again, this time by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Pentagon freezes munitions to Ukraine and within hours the president made a U-turn on that move. Also this week new audio emerges of the U.S president expressing frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin. This comes as Russia launches fresh aerial attacks on Ukraine.
And, the world's most famous pygmy hippo turns one.
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Thu, 10 Jul 2025
President Trump's so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" which was passed last week will have major implications for most Americans.
How much will this cost you? Well, there's the effect this will have on climate change – and the rising costs of electricity Some estimates suggest electricity bills in states like Texas could be $777 more a year by 2035.
The Senate version of the legislation repeals the clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act for all solar and wind projects that don't start construction within a year after the bill's passage or that aren't completely operational by 2028. But these projects can often take longer than that. And they're a fast-growing segment of the country's energy grid.
We discuss what the future of clean energy looks like in the U.S.
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Wed, 09 Jul 2025
Last week saw dangerous weather in Europe, where a brutal heat wave swept across the continent. Now wildfires from that heatwave are scorching several Mediterranean countries.
Closer to home, hundreds of heat records were set across the U.S in the month of June, including Baltimore, which saw a record high of 105 degrees. Nearly 130 million people were under extreme heat warnings or heat advisories on last Thursday, according to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center.
Heat is a deadly threat that has been intensifying each summer. And while some of us turn to air conditioning, many don't have that option.
We discuss the power of shade to help cool us down as rising temperatures become the new normal.
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Tue, 08 Jul 2025
On Friday, central Texas, near San Antonio, was hit by what officials are calling a "100‑year flood." Heavy downpours caused a deadly 30‑plus-foot surge on the Guadalupe River and catastrophic flash flooding.
Nearly 90 people have been killed and dozens remain missing. Search and rescue operations continued Monday as more heavy rain threatens the region. Operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, said they lost 27 campers and counselors, confirming their worst fears after a wall of water slammed into cabins built along the edge of the Guadalupe River.
Authorities vowed that one of the next steps will be investigating whether enough warnings were issued and why some camps did not evacuate or move to higher ground in areas long vulnerable to flooding.
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Mon, 07 Jul 2025
On Friday, President Donald Trump celebrated the passage of his signature tax and spending bill into law.
At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. It will also reduce Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. That will result in an estimated 11.8 million people losing health insurance coverage. Among those who will be hardest hit? Rural Americans.
We discuss what kind of challenges people living in rural areas could face with the new law and what ripple effects the law could have across rural public health systems.
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Mon, 07 Jul 2025
Who are we as a nation? What's important to us? And who do we want to be?
1A recently spent some time at the Aspen Ideas Festival where Gallup Research unveiled data that indicates most Americans can agree broadly on the answers to those queries, but differ on which ones are the most important.
We sit down and get into what values make an American, an American.
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Fri, 04 Jul 2025
Unless you're a physicist, you've probably only encountered quantum mechanics on TV.
And even when it was explained, you might've still been a little confused.
The field of quantum mechanics was created a century ago. Today, scientists are using it to create methods of communication that can't be hacked, higher quality digital images, and to develop medications.
But many of us don't even understand what quantum mechanics is — or how it's deepening our understanding of the universe.
For today's installment of our series, "The Scientific Method," we answer your quantum-related questions.
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Thu, 03 Jul 2025
Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, OpenAI Head of Product Kevin Weil, and Thinking Machines Lab advisor Bob McGrew are now lieutenant colonels in the U.S. Army Reserves.
They're part of a military unit called Detachment 201, also known as the the Executive Innovation Corps. Their US Army says their swearing in is the "start of a bigger mission to inspire more tech pros to serve without leaving their careers, showing the next generation how to make a difference in uniform."
We discuss what the Army hoping to innovate and the capacity these tech executives will serve in the armed forces.
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Wed, 02 Jul 2025
The so-called 'big, beautiful bill' has squeaked by in the Senate and now moves back to the House.
The massive piece of legislation is the centerpiece of Trump's agenda, filled with tax breaks and spending cuts that would touch just about every American.
We discuss what's on the table now in the GOP mega bill. And how might it affect us if it passes.
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Tue, 01 Jul 2025
Last week, Kennedy announced the U.S. would not renew its $1.2 billion commitment to the global vaccine agency Gavi.
The new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also met for the first time last week since Kennedy fired and then replaced its members.
We talk about the outlook for U.S. vaccine policy both at home and abroad.
Then, we switch gears to discuss the link between menopause and an increased risk of cardiovascular illness.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the U.S. according to the American Heart Association. We discuss the link between heart health and menopause.
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Mon, 30 Jun 2025
Last month, President Donald Trump openly questioned the separation of church and state during the establishment of the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty. He said that he is bringing religion back to the country.
We continue our "If You Can Keep It" series by assessing the boundaries of the separation between religion and the government.
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Mon, 30 Jun 2025
Sen. Elissa Slotkin isn't just a congressperson, she's also a former CIA analyst. That means she has special insight into what's be going on abroad. And there's a lot happening these days.
But, as a Democrat, there are plenty of things to focus on at home, too. Namely, what her party is going to do to ensure success in the midterm elections.
We sit down with her to discuss the Trump administration, the Democratic party, and American foreign policy.
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Fri, 27 Jun 2025
NATO leaders met this week and promised to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump claimed at that same summit that the U.S. strikes on nuclear sites in Iran had "completely and fully obliterated" the country's nuclear program. American intelligence reports, however, indicate the attack only set Tehran back a few months.
Zohran Mamdani, the New York assembly member representing the state's 36th district, is expected to be the Democratic party's nominee for mayor after former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded this week.
Following a meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president suggested he was open to sending more Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.
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Thu, 26 Jun 2025
80 years ago, Smokey the Bear was mostly talking about campfire safety. Now? Things are a little different.
Forest fires have always been a normal part of our landscape – and a tool used by human civilizations for millennia.
But as climate change makes our landscapes hotter and drier, wildfires are getting bigger and more destructive. Fire consumed 8.9 million acres across the U.S. last year. The LA County fires this January are the costliest so far, with some estimates putting the total close to $250 billion in damages.
We discuss how we can better adapt to living with massive fires and how we should think about fighting – and preventing – them.
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Wed, 25 Jun 2025
Earlier this week, the U-S embassy in Qatar issued a warning to American citizens to quote: "shelter in place until further notice." Qatar is home to the largest U-S military base in the Middle East.
The alert came amid growing fears of Iranian retaliation against U-S troops and personnel overseas, after President Trump ordered strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.
When global news like this breaks, embassies – and the ambassadors leading them – play a crucial role.
They're on the ground, serving as the top representatives of the United States government. Ambassadors also protect U-S citizens abroad.
They're on the ground, serving as the top representatives of the United States government around the world. They also protect U.S. citizens abroad.
Hundreds Americans currently hold the title of ambassador. But what does their daily work look like?
We discuss their role and how they help preserve America's so-called "soft power."
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Tue, 24 Jun 2025
José Andrés is a Michelin-starred chef and the owner of 40 restaurants across the globe. But the culinary star is just as well known for his humanitarian work.
His organization, World Central Kitchen, has fed millions in Gaza and Ukraine and during natural disasters in the U.S. and abroad.
Now, he's releasing a memoir about what it's like to not only feed people when they want it, but when they need it.
We talk to Andrés about his life, work, and his new book, "Change the Recipe."
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Mon, 23 Jun 2025
Donald Trump's new Commission on Religious Liberty met last week for the first time.
When Trump signed the executive order in May establishing the group, he marked the occasion by saying, "We're bringing religion back to our country, and it's a big deal."
But isn't the separation of church and state guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution? Can the president just "forget about it" even once?
We discuss the complicated answer.
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Mon, 23 Jun 2025
With strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday, President Donald Trump has brought the United States into Israel's war with Iran.
Israel began its campaign against Iran 10 days ago with what it called a "preemptive strike." Now, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned on social media that Iran "reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people."
Iran has so far retaliated only on Israeli sites. Some 40,000 American troops on the ground across the Middle East are on alert.
We discuss the latest and look ahead to what could happen next.
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Fri, 20 Jun 2025
In his first six months back in the Oval Office, President Trump rolled back decades of U.S. climate policy.
So far, he's scaled back regulations that help keep our air and water clean, delayed critical protections for endangered species, withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement for a second time, and cut staffing and federal spending on critical environmental agencies and programs – among other changes.
Trump's commitment to increase oil and gas production will escalate the effects we're already seeing from global warming as humans continue to burn fossil fuels.
We discuss what changes to U.S. environmental policy could have the greatest impact on the fight to curb climate change.
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Thu, 19 Jun 2025
What's your most vivid school memory? Do you remember it as a time of exploration? Was it a place where you could figure out who you were and what you wanted to become?
Or did it feel like it wasn't made for you? Did it feel constricting, or like a place with lots of rules about how you had to act and what you couldn't do?
Your experience of schools likely depended on the administrators, who your teachers were, how your city or state set up the curriculum, and the resources your school received. Writer Eve L. Ewing argues that experience could also be shaped by who you are.
What has school meant for students, and who influenced how schools function the way they do? And what are alternatives for how school could work for students?
We sit down with Ewing to talk about her new book, "Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism."
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Thu, 19 Jun 2025
Drug overdose deaths have been increasing steadily for over two decades in large part due to opioids. That's until recently. Now, new data from the Centers for Disease Control found that 2024 saw the largest one year decline ever recorded. And that 24% decline was felt across the country. Every state except two saw a drop in overdose deaths.
The drop comes after an aggressive public health response from both the Biden Administration and local efforts, including making the overdose reversing drug Naloxone available over the counter and in communities. But the crisis is far from over. Drug overdoses are still the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 44.
We discuss what we can we learn from looking at the recent decline in drug deaths and what federal cuts could mean for that progress.
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Tue, 17 Jun 2025
On Monday, the Israeli military struck the headquarters of Iran's state television network. The explosion was caught on video in the middle of a news broadcast. As the conflict enters its fifth day, 224 civilians have been killed in Iran. And in Israel, at least 24 people have been killed according to the prime minister's office.
Meanwhile, Israel's war in Gaza continues. This weekend at least 79 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza strip, many at an aid distribution point operated by the U-S and Israel. The death toll since October 7, 2023 in Gaza has now surpassed 55,000 people.
A French-Saudi summit scheduled to take place this week that was meant to pave the way for wider recognition of a Palestinian state was postponed indefinitely.
We discuss the regional and global implications of conflict between Israel and Iran.
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Mon, 16 Jun 2025
On Saturday, Representative Melissa Hortman, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor party leader in the Minnesota House, was killed along with her husband Mark at their home in a suburb of Minneapolis. Another state representative, Democratic senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, were also shot, but are recovering.
Minnesota governor Tim Walz announced late Sunday that police had caught the main suspect in the case after a massive manhunt. The suspect, Vance Boelter, is due in court on Monday.
We discuss the latest.
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Mon, 16 Jun 2025
President Donald Trump's decision to send the National Guard to Los Angeles is now up in the air – with a federal appeals court reviewing the case. A lower court has already said Trump acted illegally.
For this edition of our weekly politics series, "If You Can Keep It," we explore how presidents can and can't deploy U.S. troops domestically.
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Fri, 13 Jun 2025
The second iteration of Donald Trump's travel ban goes into effect.
A federal judge rules that the government must release Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil.
The International Monetary Fund looks to support Syria's economic recovery, saying that it will require investment from abroad.
And, more deaths are reported at food aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip.
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Thu, 12 Jun 2025
When someone hurts us, we might feel wounded or sad. We might feel angry and defensive. But sometimes those feelings turn into something more dangerous: a desire for revenge.
Wanting to right a perceived wrong is normal. But neuroscientists are now finding that revenge-seeking behavior can be a form of addiction.
Why does hurting those who have hurt us make us feel good, at least in the moment? And why does getting back at someone often backfire?
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Wed, 11 Jun 2025
People aged 50 and older have grown from about 10 percent of the homeless population to half. That's according to the most recent federal data.
The increase is being driven by a number of factors including housing affordability and fixed incomes. It comes as social safety net programs like Medicaid are on the chopping block and fears grow over the future of Social Security under the Trump Administration.
We talk about the reasons behind the dramatic increase in homelessness among seniors and how can they be protected.
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Wed, 11 Jun 2025
The first official "Song of Summer" award was given to One Direction in 2013 for... well... "Best Song Ever." It's been more than a decade since that inaugural MTV Video Music Award.
But has the way we consume music evolved so much that a "song of summer" is a relic of the not-so-distant past? How can we measure what makes a good summer song?
We convene the 1A Record Club to get into it.
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Mon, 09 Jun 2025
After slashing the federal workforce by tens of thousands earlier this year, the Trump administration is looking to fill those empty positions again.
But this time, they want Trump loyalists.
It's a move that challenges more than 150 years of precedent set forth in the Pendleton Act of 1870, which created a nonpartisan civil service.
The outlook for the federal workforce is changing again under Trump. Today, we talk about what it means for the government now and down the line,
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Fri, 06 Jun 2025
Donald Trump's travel ban is back. Its second iteration blocks all travelers from 12 countries and partially restricts those from seven more starting next week.
The GOP's budget bill has made its way to the Senate, but not all Republicans are falling in line to pass it.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 80 people are dead and hundreds more wounded in a series of shooting attacks near aid distribution sites.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said this week that his country would not stop enriching uranium.
This week, after the latest rounds of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia floundered, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is asking for a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Thu, 05 Jun 2025
Hurricane season is here.
June 1 marks its official start and NOAA says it could be a busy one. But with the Trump administration's recent cuts to federal agencies, including FEMA, how ready are we to respond when disaster hits?
How will reductions in staff – and budgets – affect the government's ability to predict severe weather?
We discuss how the country is gearing up for a summer of storms.
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Wed, 04 Jun 2025
U.S. officials are turning their attention to a pressing problem in space. Not asteroids crashing into earth, but something else: space debris.
Thousands of satellites have been launched into space because our modern life depends on them. There are about 10,000 active satellites in low earth orbit right now. But as more and more of them go up, space is getting crowded.
And where there's crowds, there's waste. Millions of pieces of space debris are circling Earth right now. There are big pieces — everything from dead satellites to spent rocket stages. And tiny ones like blots and paint flecks. But they're all whizzing around at speeds that can be faster than a speeding bullet.
We team up with our friends at the Click Here podcast to take a look at the problem of space debris. We discuss what could happen if an adversary hacks an old satellite and uses it as a weapon.
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Tue, 03 Jun 2025
If you've been following the news lately — including with 1A — it can be a lot to take in.
We've heard from many of you about how the news makes you feel. But what can we do in chaotic moments of history to build a sense of control in our lives? Maybe it's organizing in your community, starting a new hobby, or picking up that TV show from 10 years ago that you promised you'd get around to watching.
We talk about what finding agency in the chaos can look like, and why we should actively focus on something rather than simply react to what's happening.
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Mon, 02 Jun 2025
Last week, the House passed a sweeping budget bill, the centerpiece of President Donald Trump's domestic agenda.
The final vote was 215 to 214, just one vote shy of failure, with all but two Republicans supporting the package. Now, all eyes are on the Senate. It's their job to take the legislation over the finish line and deliver it to the president's desk.
Headlines about the bill are focused on tax cuts for the wealthy and steep cuts to programs like Medicaid and food stamps. But buried in this 1,100-page bill are a host lot of lesser-known provisions about immigration, artificial intelligence, and even one that would limit the courts' power by stripping away any consequences for officials who ignore judges' rulings. That last one is akin to "crowning Trump King" according to former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich.
We discuss what's in the fine print and what it means for Americans.
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Fri, 30 May 2025
This week Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. will begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students.
Elon Musk isn't leaving Washington quietly. In an interview with CBS news Musk took aim at the tax bill making its way through Congress, saying it undermines the work he and DOGE undertook.
Israel's latest offensive in Gaza is drawing criticism from world leaders. This week officials in Germany, Italy, and Spain called for the Israeli military to cease its campaign against Palestinian civilians.
And King Charles opens his address to the Canadian parliament with comments on the nation's sovereignty saying "the true north is indeed strong and free."
We cover the week's most important stories during the News Roundup.
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Thu, 29 May 2025
It's been five years since widespread protests erupted after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
That murder, and the resulting national protests, led to numerous calls for police reform in communities around the country.
But the politics of policing have changed since 2024. Perceptions of crime and its relationship with immigration were central issues during the last presidential election, particularly for the Republican Party.
And now, the Trump administration says it's undoing recent federal efforts to supervise police reforms in certain cities.
We discuss where the end of those efforts leaves cities and police departments trying to be more accountable to those they're supposed to serve and protect.
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Wed, 28 May 2025
80 years ago, Smokey the Bear was mostly talking about campfire safety. Now? Things are a little different.
Forest fires have always been a normal part of our landscape – and a tool used by human civilizations for millennia.
But as climate change makes our landscapes hotter and drier, wildfires are getting bigger and more destructive. Fire consumed 8.9 million acres across the U.S. last year. The LA County fires this January are the costliest so far, with some estimates putting the total close to $250 billion in damages.
We discuss how we can better adapt to living with massive fires and how we should think about fighting – and preventing – them.
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Tue, 27 May 2025
The news last week of former President Joe Biden's advanced prostate cancer has more people thinking and talking about the condition.
About 1 in 8 men in the U.S. are diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives. It's the most-diagnosed cancer in men and the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in American men after lung cancer. That's according to the American Cancer Society.
In this installment of our series, "In Good Health," we talk about how to detect and treat prostate cancer. Then, we switch gears to talk about the Food and Drug Administration's plans to potentially restrict access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Mon, 26 May 2025
"Did you hear? A little birdy told me. Don't tell anyone I said this."
Human beings love to gossip. We all talk about other people – sometimes it's a good thing and sometimes it's not.
But where do we draw that line? Where and how did we learn to gossip? Are there benefits?
We talk to the creator of the "Normal Gossip" podcast, Kelsey McKinney. Her new book is all about how we talk about other people.
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Fri, 23 May 2025
After an early-morning vote to open debate, the House passed the Republican spending and tax bill this week. Now, it moves to the Senate.
Elsewhere in Washington, President Donald Trump welcomed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a meeting in the Oval Office where he lectured the visiting leader and made false claims about supposed persecution of white Afrikaner farmers.
Despite Gaza being on the edge of famine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Forces launched a new offensive in the region that will supposedly bring the entire area under Israeli control.
In his first general audience, Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday called for aid to be allowed to enter Gaza.
The European Union is engaged in a war of words with Israel after the IDF fired warning shots at an E.U. diplomatic delegation visiting the city of Jenin.
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Thu, 22 May 2025
Cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, specifically to programs funding farms, schools, and food banks, mean meals won't make it to many tables across the country.
A new report from Feeding America found that people in every county are experiencing hunger. In some areas, child food insecurity is as high as 50 percent.
How are food banks and farms responding to a loss in federal funding?
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Wed, 21 May 2025
Musician Rhiannon Giddens has won Grammys, a Pulitzer, and a MacArthur "Genius Grant."
But her new album is a true love letter to her North Carolina roots and features former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson. The album is called "What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow."
Giddens and Robinson join us to talk about North Carolina's musical past, taking the time to learn at the feet of a master, and what it means to call a place home.
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Tue, 20 May 2025
The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known colloquially as the nation's report card, shows that reading scores dropped an average of two progress points for both 4th and 8th graders.
But two states that are bucking this trend? Mississippi and Louisiana.
How did two of the country's poorest states turn their literacy scores around in a matter of a few years? What can other states learn from those stories?
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Mon, 19 May 2025
A flood of executive actions and attempts to reshape the scope of the federal government have resulted in at least 328 lawsuits against President Donald Trump's administration as of May 1. A Bloomberg analysis found that judges have blocked Trump's policies more than they have allowed them.
We break down some of the biggest cases against the Trump administration and what they say about the balance of power in the U.S. today.
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Fri, 16 May 2025
The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case about President Donald Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship. House Republicans unveil a bill to cut congressional spending.
The U.S. and China hammer out a trade deal that reduces tariffs for 90 days. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East, announcing a slew of economic deals and partnerships. But back home, a luxury jet from the Qatari government takes over the headlines.
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Thu, 15 May 2025
June is around the corner. It means the end of the Supreme Court's term, and with it, decisions on its most high-profile, high-stakes cases.
That's the "what" of the Court's work – but how does the Court decide its cases today? One book tries to answer that.
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Wed, 14 May 2025
On Sunday, Catholic churches across the world celebrated Mass while a new leader took the top seat in Vatican City. That new leader is Pope Leo XIV.
But when white smoke rose last week, some of the faithful may have been surprised when Robert Prevost walked out of St. Peter's Basilica victorious. He's the first US-born pope in history.
What do we know about the man now leading the church? What does it mean for someone born in the U.S. to be the pope?
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Tue, 13 May 2025
We're talking all about electric vehicles.
The month of May was made for racing. From the Kentucky Derby to the Indy 500. And now, there's a new sound getting louder.
Prime Video is offering a look into the fast lane of Formula E racing with the recently-released show Formula E: Driver. The series follows the lives, and the close calls of four Formula E drivers, including Andretti Racing's 2023 Formula E World Champion, Jake Dennis.
And later, new polling from Gallup suggests fewer Americans are interested in EVs now than two years ago. In 2023, 59% of those polled were open to buying an EV. That's now dropped to 51%.
Still, EV sales continue to rise. And that's despite the Trump administration's tariffs and potential repeal of EV tax credits. The administration also halted a program aiming to build a network of EV chargers. But some states are suing to restore the funding.
We discuss the future of EVs in America.
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Mon, 12 May 2025
President Donald Trump has been clear about wanting to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world. What's becoming clearer is how much Trump is personally invested in the industry succeeding.
A new report from State Democracy Defenders Action finds that Trump's crypto holdings represent nearly 40 percent of his net worth. The president has his own meme coin and is offering a dinner and private White House tour to the highest investors.
Meanwhile, a recent deal by the Trump family's crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, to an Emirati state backed venture fund has raised eyebrows.
On Tuesday, Democratic Representative Maxine Waters of California blocked a joint hearing on cryptocurrency policy. On Thursday, a key cryptocurrency bill stalled over concerns of the president's crypto dealings.
We get into all of this during our latest installment of, "If You Can Keep It."
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Fri, 09 May 2025
There's a new Pope in town, the first American. We discuss what we know about the new pontiff.
This week, President Trump says he wants the world to see the United States as a "luxury store." But who can afford it?U.S. ports say the trade war is already slowing traffic. We get to the latest on trade talks.
Also, more on the right to due process and fresh U.S. intelligence that undercuts arguments about the president's power to remove those in the U.S. without legal status to prisons overseas.
The latest as tensions escalate between India and Pakistan. Israel ramps up its war in Gaza. Vice President Vance calls out the Kremlin for stalled efforts to agree a peace deal with Ukraine.
And during his visit to the White House, Canada's newly elected prime minister tells President Trump what's up for debate and what's not for sale.
The News Roundup covers the biggest stories from this week.
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Thu, 08 May 2025
John B. King Jr. has worked in nearly every role an educator can — teacher, principal, administrator, higher education chancellor, and education secretary (under Barack Obama).
Some big changes for education in America could be coming. The Trump administration has signaled its intention to close the Department of Education. That could have far-reaching ripple effects on parents, teachers, and, most importantly, students.
We discuss what it takes for teachers to impact students' lives for the better, and what can teachers do to steer them to success in school and in life.
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Wed, 07 May 2025
Spring is here and whether you've a balcony or a big yard, it's a great time to garden.
Maybe you're growing some vegetables this season or experimenting with new plants. But nothing says 'Spring' quite like flowers.
We answer your flower gardening questions and spend some time talking about one flower in particular: orchids.
Orchids are the largest plant family in the world with over 25,000 species. They also make great gifts. We talk about how to care for orchids even if you're not growing them yourself.
On hand to to help us get into the floral spirit, one seasoned horticulturist and an orchid biologist.
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Tue, 06 May 2025
Over five million US borrowers are in default, with their loan 270 days past due. Four million haven't made payments in 90 days. Now, the five-year pause on collections for defaulted student loans ended Monday.
The original pause goes back to a 2020 pandemic-era policy, but it was extended multiple times during the Biden administration.
For those in default, the collection of that debt may mean dipping into paychecks, tax refunds, and social security benefits.
These collections are being restarted weeks after the Department of Education has seen its staff cut by half.
Borrowers are also dealing with glitching and outages on financial aid websites.
We answer your questions about student loans and hear why so many borrowers are considered "seriously delinquent."|
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Mon, 05 May 2025
President Donald Trump wants Congress to put together a 'big, beautiful" bill that will extend tax cuts implemented during his first administration. But with less money coming in for the federal government, Congress will have to find ways to cut its own spending.
House Speaker Mike Johnson says that goal is $1.5 trillion.
One big sticking point on where to make cuts is Medicaid. Johnson has repeatedly claimed that Congress will not make cuts to Medicaid for anyone who is "duly owed." There are some representatives, however, with concerns.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently did the math. That $1.5 trillion goal isn't possible without cuts to Medicaid or Medicare (another program the administration vowed not to touch).
We discuss what Congress may keep in its budget if they want to also pass this mega-bill to cut taxes.
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Fri, 02 May 2025
As dropping approval ratings rolled in at the end of his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to claim that America is currently living with Biden's stock market and not his.
A Vermont judge ordered the release of Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi this week. He had been detained by ICE during a final interview for his American citizenship.
As Donald Trump's trade war continues, traditional U.S. trading partners are seeking to make connections with other global economic powerhouses.
The U.S. announced a deal this week that will see it receive a share of the revenue from Ukraine's mineral deposits and the creation of a joint investment fund shared by the two countries.
We cover all the biggest headlines from the week for this installment of the News Roundup.
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Fri, 02 May 2025
Host Diane Rehm sat behind the mic at our home station, WAMU, for nearly 40 years. Her eponymous news talk program aired from 1979 to 2016 to nearly 3 million listeners each week.
In some ways, her success in radio defied the odds. In 1998, she was diagnosed with the neurological condition spasmodic dysphonia. It gave her the distinct voice that over time became synonymous for many with civil conversations on frequently tough topics.
In 2014, President Barack Obama presented Diane with a National Humanities Medal in recognition of her work.
In 2016, she stepped away from her live show, handing the reins to 1A and making the move to her own weekly podcast.
Now, she's saying goodbye to public radio for good, with the end of her podcast and the start of new independent projects.
She joins us to talk about what her tenure in radio and news.
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Thu, 01 May 2025
Americans consume an average of 17 teaspoons of sugar a day with some estimates as high as 34 teaspoons a day. That's more than two or three times the recommended daily amount according to the American Heart Association.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has strong thoughts on the sugar.
"There's things that will never be able to eliminate like sugar," said Kennedy. "And sugar is poison, and Americans need to know that. It is poisoning us."
In this edition of "In Good Health," we discuss the effects to sugar on our bodies, how we can lower these risks.
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Wed, 30 Apr 2025
100 days. That's how long Donald Trump's been in office in 2025.
While this moment is usually a time to measure how the administration is faring, in many ways, the administration is a reflection of who we are as a nation.
We discuss what we're learning about who we are as Americans during this time. What do we want, and what do we stand for?
There have been executive orders, Signal group chats, federal agency cuts, firings, rehirings, ignored judicial rulings, billionaires, memes, tariffs, and so much more.
As we all take stock of the national implications of his Administration's moves, for this episode, we want to get a little more personal. We hear from you on how your life has changed since Trump took office for the second time.
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Wed, 30 Apr 2025
José Andrés is a Michelin-starred chef and the owner of 40 restaurants across the globe. But the culinary star is just as well known for his humanitarian work.
His organization, World Central Kitchen, has fed millions in Gaza and Ukraine and during natural disasters in the U.S. and abroad.
Now, he's releasing a memoir about what it's like to not only feed people when they want it, but when they need it.
We talk to Andrés about his life, work, and his new book, "Change the Recipe."
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Tue, 29 Apr 2025
President Donald Trump swore to tackle illegal immigration in his first moments in office. His administration says he's living up to his word, but his actions over the last 100 days have raised big questions about treatment of immigrants under U.S. law.
This includes ramping up pressure on immigrants – those here legally and without legal status – to leave the United States of their own volition, or "self deport."
For many immigrants, self-deporting means leaving the only country, culture, and community they have ever known. We sit down with one woman who made the grueling decision to leave the United States.
We talk about current U.S. immigration policy.
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Tue, 29 Apr 2025
Yesterday, Canadians went to the polls to decide whether Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party maintained the reins, or whether the Conservatives returned to power for the first time in nearly a decade.
The voters have spoken, and the Liberal Party will continue to lead Canada.
Carney was chosen by his party to take over leadership after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down earlier this year. These results will have major ramifications on Canada's shaky relations with the U.S., President Donald Trump, and his tariffs.
We discuss what the election means for the country.
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Mon, 28 Apr 2025
Big news is happening at a breakneck pace these days. But on the cusp of the 100th day of President Donald Trump's second administration, let's take a pause to go back in time to Sept. 30, 1962.
On that day, President John F. Kennedy sent U.S. military forces to protect James Meredith on the campus of the University of Mississippi. Meredith was the first Black student admitted to the school. That night, JFK addressed the nation from the White House.
In his address JFK describes a moment when the word of the Constitution no longer prevails, is by most definitions a "constitutional crisis."
Some of you think that moment is here.
As part of our weekly series on the state of our democracy, "If You Can Keep It," we're posing a big question: Are we in a constitutional crisis?
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Fri, 25 Apr 2025
Tributes for the late Pope Francis are pouring in from across the globe after the Pontiff passed away on Easter Monday. His funeral will be held on this weekend.
This week, the president attacked Supreme Court Justices for getting in the way of his administration's efforts to deport migrants, saying that the Court can't afford trials for everyone they're seeking to remove from the U.S.
In health news, scientists say that the measles outbreak in the Southwest is now the largest since 2000.
And at least 26 tourists died this week in an attack in the India-administered Kashmir. The Indian government has not officially identified any group as being behind the attack, but it did announce a flurry of punitive measures against Pakistan which it said supported the attacks. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack and issued countermeasures. It's the deadliest attack of its kind in 25 years.
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Fri, 25 Apr 2025
It's been three years since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court.
The abortion access landscape has changed dramatically in that time. The procedure has been banned in 12 states with limited exceptions. Four states have banned abortion after six weeks. Now, several states are weighing bills that would treat abortion as homicide.
But what comes next? What if getting Roe v. Wade struck down wasn't actually the real goal of the anti-abortion movement? What if it were something that would instead fundamentally change our understanding of constitutional rights in this country?
That's what legal scholar Mary Zeigler argues in her new book, "Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction," which comes out tomorrow. We sit down with her to talk about it.
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Thu, 24 Apr 2025
The White House has issued an ultimatum on the war in Ukraine. Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the U.S. would walk away from the peace process unless Ukraine and Russia accepted America's terms – terms which heavily favor Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected the deal which calls for Ukraine to cede its territory currently occupied by Russia. Thursday morning, Russia launched its deadliest attacks on Kyiv in months.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced this week he's overhauling his agency – saying it will lose 15 percent of its personnel and 132 offices.
We discuss what that could mean for Ukraine and the future of American Diplomacy.
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Wed, 23 Apr 2025
A sleeve, a collar, soles, or laces — these elements of your wardrobe vary and define your style. But it takes many steps to get them from a factory into your closet.
How does something like a t-shirt become a finished product?
About 97 percent of clothing and footwear in the U.S. is imported, according to the American Apparel and Footwear Association. Those imports are mostly from Asian countries including China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and India.
We unpack it in this installment of our series, "How Did This Get Here," where we follow the supply chains and costs associated with some of your favorite products.
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Tue, 22 Apr 2025
The first Earth Day was celebrated April 22, 1970.
55 years later, we know a lot more about the harmful effect human civilization has on our natural environment. But the desire to find solutions – big and small – continues.
We asked you about your contributions to helping the environment around you. Many of you told us of local solutions to this global challenge.
Those types of stories are the focus of The New York Times series "50 States, 50 Fixes." The series highlights environmental solutions with real results in every state.
We discuss grassroot projects and the history of Earth Day with the reportes behind the series.
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Tue, 22 Apr 2025
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth used a signal chat to communicate military battle plans, again, according to reporting from The New York Times.
This second line of communication was opened back in March, around the same time as the infamous first chat, which had accidentally included a journalist. This latest – which Hegseth accessed via his personal phone – included his wife and brother. The Pentagon denies these latest reports.
Yesterday, NPR also reported that the White House is looking to replace Hegseth. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the reporting and said President Trump stands behind him.
We discuss the latest and what this says about the state of the Pentagon and its leadership.
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Mon, 21 Apr 2025
The Trump administration's efforts to deport migrants it says are gang members have hit several legal roadblocks in recent days. Federal judges and the Supreme Court have blocked the government from deporting more migrants under a seldom used, 18th-century wartime law.
El Salvador is now key to this deportation policy. Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, has accepted hundreds of people deported from the U.S., including people not from either country. It's holding most of those men at a massive prison meant for terrorists called "CECOT."
For this installment of our series, "If You Can Keep It," where we take a closer look at the state of our democracy, we discuss how Bukele runs his country and what he gains from assisting Trump. We also take a closer look at the laws the Trump administration is using to justify its immigration enforcement strategies.
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Fri, 18 Apr 2025
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the big name in the news this week as he remains imprisoned in El Salvador. A U.S. District judge chastised the Department of Justice for not following her order to facilitate his release.
Meanwhile, America's top diplomat says time is running out for US-led talks to find a path of peace in Ukraine.
Those remarks from Paris follow Russian airstrikes that killed dozens and injured more than 100 people in Sumy, Ukraine, mid-morning on Palm Sunday. It's the deadliest attack in the country's invasion this year.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his country's troops will not leave established buffer zones in Gaza after the war ends.
And this week, the rebel group fighting the Sudanese army for power announced that it has formed its own government.
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Fri, 18 Apr 2025
The successor to the Nintendo Switch is (almost) here. But it's arrived at an awkward time for both Nintendo and gamers alike.
The Switch 2 was initially announced in January, but fans learned much more about it during a Nintendo Direct livestream a few weeks ago. It included information about the system's launch date (June 5), its hardware specs, the games Nintendo fans could expect to play at release, and, perhaps most importantly, prices for both the Switch 2 and its games.
That last part has put a damper on some of the enthusiasm for the system's launch. It will retail for $449.99. The price of Nintendo's games is also climbing.
Nintendo is citing a rise in the cost of the console's production as well as economic uncertainties like President Donald Trump's tariffs as reasons for the price hikes.
We dig into the latest for this installment of our series, "Game Mode."
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Thu, 17 Apr 2025
President Donald Trump promised tariffs on the campaign trail. Those tariffs are here – but how much of them, where, and on who, has changed a few times.
Here's where things stand right now: President Trump rolled tariff rates back to a baseline ten percent for most countries, but raised the tariffs on China to 145 percent. Global trading markets plunged due to a series of rapid shifts in trade policy.
We discuss how these policies affect small businesses, many of which have to rely on goods that come from other countries.
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Wed, 16 Apr 2025
The last few weeks have had many of us thinking long and hard about the things we buy, the price of those goods, and the potential for those prices to jump.
This episode is part of our series, "How Did This Get Here?", where we follow goods as they make their way through the global supply chain, and explore what the president's announced tariffs may mean for your pocketbook.
Today, we continue our series with.a product some of you may be sipping on right now. It's coffee.
Coffee is everywhere. The average person in the U-S drinks a bit more than 3 cups a day. And Americans spend almost 100 and 10 billion dollars every year on the drink.
And that amount is going up. Perhaps you've noticed the price for your favorite brand jumped in recent months? The average price of ground coffee in the supermarket hit an all-time high in March, at 7 dollars 38 cents a pound. That's up 84 percent since just before the pandemic.
We discuss what's behind the jump. And what tariffs...and the warming climate...mean for your favorite cup of joe.
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Tue, 15 Apr 2025
Frustration with the Internal Revenue Service is nothing new. A Pew Research survey found it's the least popular federal agency among Americans.
But that should come as no surprise. After all, the IRS is responsible for collecting what we owe the government.
During fiscal year 2024, the IRS collected more than $5 trillion in tax revenue.
But this year, Tax Day arrives amid upheaval at the agency. Just last week, the head of the IRS resigned – the third to do so since President Trump's inauguration. And his administration announced plans to lay off up to a quarter of the agency's workforce.
We discuss the latest at the IRS and the impact changes at the agency could have for the 2025 tax season.
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Tue, 15 Apr 2025
What's the weather like in your area? Chances are you took a look at your preferred weather app on your phone before heading outside.
We can find that information easily because of weather data that comes from the National Weather Service. It's a part of the federal agency NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Trump Administration plans to cut billions of dollars from NOAA in its upcoming 2026 budget plans.
The cuts could result in a remaking of the agency and eliminate much of the research it conducts that Americans use every day.
We discuss how the loss of NOAA could affect our day to day.
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Mon, 14 Apr 2025
The Trump administration is threatening to pull billions of dollars in funding from top universities across the country.
Last week, it froze $1 billion meant for Cornell University and $750 million meant for Northwestern University. The two schools are currently being investigated for alleged antisemitism on campus.
And last month, the administration canceled $400 million in grants and contracts for Columbia University also over allegations of antisemitism on campus. President Trump has since targeted other universities including Brown, Harvard, and Princeton.
We continue our "If You Can Keep It" series with a look at the higher education funding under the Trump administration.
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Fri, 11 Apr 2025
This week the Supreme Court told the Trump administration Thursday that it must "facilitate" the release and retrieval of a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to a prison in El Salvador.
After announcing tariffs on almost every country in the world last week, President Donald Trump announced this week that he was pausing reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. Except for those on China.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to Texas after a second death linked to a measles outbreak in the state was reported.
Meanwhile, Ukraine says Chinese soldiers are now waging war alongside Russian soldiers. China denies the accusation.
And on Tuesday, Japan signaled that it would be interested in joining NATO's support of Ukraine as it continues to fight off the Russian invasion.
Our all-star panels help guide us through the most important headlines this week.
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Thu, 10 Apr 2025
It's safe to say there's been a lot of confusion and even panic in the wake of President Donald Trump's tariff announcement last week — investors are confused, the markets are confused, even the president's Republican colleagues are confused.
But what do these tariffs mean for working people? Especially as many have seen their personal wealth take a sizable hit and their budgets likely be blown to bits.
We discuss what the tariffs could mean for America's finances in the near and far futures with The Washington Post's Michelle Singletary. We also hear from Martha Gimbel of the Budget Lab at Yale about the bigger economic picture.
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Wed, 09 Apr 2025
The auto industry is already reeling from President Donald Trump's new tariffs. They've only been in effect for about six days, but the response was immediate.
On the same day those tariffs went live, Stellantis temporarily paused production at plants in Canada and Mexico. The company also temporarily laid off 900 U.S. workers. And Volkswagen said it's planning to add an import fee to its sticker price.
According to financial analytics firm S&P Global, about half of car sales could be affected by these tariffs. Trump says auto tariffs will bring manufacturing and jobs back to the U.S.
We discuss how these new trade rules actually affect American production and your pocketbook, as part of our "How Did This Get Here?" series.
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Tue, 08 Apr 2025
People visited U.S. National Park sites a record 331 million times last year. Were you one of them?
If you were, and plan to visit any National Parks this year though, staff cuts might mean a different kind of experience.
At the direction of Elon Musk's DOGE entity, the Department of the Interior fired around 1,000 probationary National Park Service employees in February.
That has current and former NPS employees feeling pessimistic about the future.
We discuss how these cuts will impact the future of America's National Parks.
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Tue, 08 Apr 2025
President Donald Trump's escalating trade war sent markets lurching between hope and panic yesterday.
But overall, stocks have been tumbling since last Wednesday. That's when President Trump announced a universal 10 percent tariff on all goods coming into the U.S.
He also announced additional import taxes on 185 countries. Those tariffs are set to kick in Wednesday.
In response, the global economy is in a tailspin. We discuss the latest.
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Mon, 07 Apr 2025
The nation's health administration is the latest target of the Trump administration's effort to dismantle the federal bureaucracy. That's after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. slashed 10,000 jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services early last week.
Entire offices were eliminated during the layoffs. Some of those positions, Kennedy says, will need to be reinstated. Experts warn that these sweeping job cuts at the HHS will affect drug approvals, disease tracking, and vital biomedical research.
We continue our series "If You Can Keep It" with a look at what these actions mean for our public health - and the health of U.S. democracy.
We discuss the latest on the dismantling of the HHS and how staff cuts at the department might change the way the U.S. delivers health services.
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Fri, 04 Apr 2025
Donald Trump unveiled his so-called "Liberation Day" plans this week. On Wednesday he announced a slew of tariffs that will affect goods being imported into the U.S.
Elon Musk took a hit in Wisconsin. Liberal candidate Susan Crawford emerged victorious in the special election to the state's Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the White House is working to find countries that will take migrants deported from the U.S. Reporting this week found that the Trump Administration has contacted governments in South America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.
The war in Gaza is the deadliest for journalists in history.
French politician and far-right leader Marine le Pen was barred from running for public office for half a decade as she was found guilty of embezzlement by a court in Paris.
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Thu, 03 Apr 2025
The arrest and detainment of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil by Immigration and Customs Enforcement garnered national attention.
Last week, the video of the arrest of a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University, Rumeysa Ozturk, by masked federal agents received similar attention.
In addition to Ozturk and Khalil, nearly a dozen international students and faculty at universities across the country have been detained for possible deportation as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on those who've voiced pro-Palestinian views.
The arrests have raised questions — not just about the rights of immigrants with legal status in the U.S. — but about the right to dissent, regardless of citizenship, under the Trump administration.
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Thu, 03 Apr 2025
The Trump administration's cutbacks to the federal workforce continued this week at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Thousands of staffers were fired at agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the layoffs last week, an additional "reduction in force" of 10,000 people on top of the 10,000 who've already left the department this year. This amounts to one of the largest government departments losing a quarter of its workforce.
One of the agencies affected is the National Institutes of Health. The network of research centers funds much of the country's biomedical research.
We discuss what the layoffs at the NIH mean for the country's ability to research and develop medical treatments.
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Wed, 02 Apr 2025
Your new iPhone goes through a lot before you peel the plastic off and finally boot it up. Further Apple purchases might have to go through more thanks to the Trump administration's tariffs.
From its assembly, to its packaging, to its shipping, to stocking, to purchase, it's a long process. So, what does it actually look like? Why is this the way we do it? And what could be done to make things better?
This is our new series,"How Did This Get Here." We explore how goods make their way to us from overseas to our hands. This week we discuss iPhones.
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Tue, 01 Apr 2025
Some of the best songs you can hear this spring aren't on the radio.
Hundreds of millions of birds make their annual migration back into North America in early March. Despite their return to our neighborhoods and backyards to wake us up bright and early, a new report reveals they're numbering fewer and fewer.
The 2025 State of the Birds report is a joint effort spearheaded by a coalition of science and conservation organizations. It found widespread population decline across nearly all habitats and that over one third of species require conservation help.
But it's not all bad news. The report also finds that an increased interest in birding has led to more volunteer data that helped shaped the report.
We discuss what we can learn about our feathered friends and our environment while birding.
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Tue, 01 Apr 2025
President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" of reciprocal tariffs is almost here.
On April 2, Trump is rolling out a plan that would charge a blanket dollar for dollar tax on goods coming into the U.S. Trump clarified Sunday that this policy would apply to all countries instead of a more focused list.
The uncertainty around and scope of these tariffs (and a potential trade war) has spooked Wall Street and raised fears of inflation.
We discuss America's financial future.
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Mon, 31 Mar 2025
President Trump is known for going after his political opponents.
And for the past month or so, one target has been certain powerful lawyers and law firms.
But why is he going after these lawyers and firms? Will courts let him get away with intimidating law firms he doesn't like with threats and executive orders?
And how does it all fit into Trump's broader efforts to tilt the legal system to his advantage?
Today we hear from one of the lawyers named in the recent flurry of White House orders and memos that aim to limit law firm's ability to represent clients.
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Mon, 31 Mar 2025
Florida holds a special election tomorrow for a House seat that has long been solidly red. Now? Maybe a bit less so.
Former Congressman Mike Waltz gave up his seat in the 6th Congressional District – the area around Daytona Beach – to accept the post of President Donald Trump's national security advisor. In line to win his vacant seat tomorrow is Trump-backed Randy Fine, a state senator.
But in recent days polls have been too close for comfort for many Republicans. Fine's Democratic opponent, math teacher Josh Weil, has raised $10 million for his campaign. Fine has brought in just $1 million.
We discuss what we could learn from tomorrow's results.
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Sun, 30 Mar 2025
We've spent a lot of time in 2025 talking about the president. The executive orders. The court challenges. The cabinet appointments. Now, the Signal group chats.
It's a challenge to report on the administration, full stop. But what if you're not reporting on the administration for an audience directly affected by the U.S. federal government? What kinds of challenges does that present?
In a 1A first, we sit down in front of an audience at our home base at WAMU in Washington, DC, to talk to three international journalists about their experiences covering the Trump administration for their audiences back home.
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Fri, 28 Mar 2025
This week the Atlantic published messages shared between national security officials on a Signal group chat laying out plans for U.S airstrikes in Yemen. It appears that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz added The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the message thread. European leaders have been cautious in their comments on the scandal.
President Trump is threatening to suspend security clearances and access to federal buildings of lawyers he does not like.
Meanwhile, Israel continues its military campaign in Gaza after breaking the ceasefire agreement with Hamas earlier this month.
And five lions rescued from the frontlines of the war in Ukraine have now been resettled in England by the Wild Animals Rescue Center.
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Fri, 28 Mar 2025
The acting assistant administrator for global health at USAID, Nicholas Enrich, was placed on administrative leave in early March.
Before his departure, he had made a series of chilling predictions in memos concerning the consequences of the Trump administration's gutting of the agency.
These include some 18 million additional cases of malaria and 166,000 resulting deaths. One million children who will remain malnourished. And 200,000 additional children paralyzed by polio.
And he placed the blame squarely at the feet of USAID leadership, the State Department, and DOGE.
We discuss what the world will look like without American aid to help address global problems.
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Thu, 27 Mar 2025
As the earth continues to heat up unsustainably due to society's love of fossil fuels, scientists say natural disasters are only going to become more frequent and more destructive. That's something California knows all too well. Wildfires burned more than 58,000 acres this year and destroyed more than 16,000 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
For many towns, a disaster like a wildfire or hurricane can completely destroy the town and its history, leaving its residents wondering if it can ever be what it once was.
The Altadena community is seeing that process play out. The Eaton fire killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 homes when it burned through the neighborhood outside of Los Angeles earlier this year.
We discuss what choices families are left to face in the aftermath of a disaster that destroys their home, and what the process looks like if you do try to rebuild.
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Wed, 26 Mar 2025
If you've been following the news lately — including with 1A — it can be a lot to take in.
We've heard from many of you about how the news makes you feel. But what can we do in chaotic moments of history to build a sense of control in our lives? Maybe it's organizing in your community, starting a new hobby, or picking up that TV show from 10 years ago that you promised you'd get around to watching.
We talk about what finding agency in the chaos can look like, and why we should actively focus on something rather than simply react to what's happening.
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Tue, 25 Mar 2025
It's safe to say the Trump administration has shaken up the federal government.
That includes environmental policy and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Trump administration is making deep cuts to the department. The agency's top official, Lee Zeldin, says he wants to cut 65 percent of its budget.
The EPA has already slashed jobs at the environmental justice office, which addresses disproportionate environmental and health effects on minority and low-income populations. The agency is now bracing for more cuts.
The administration has already rolled back regulations, frozen funds, and made larger moves like pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate agreement.
We discuss what's next for environmental policy in the U.S.
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Mon, 24 Mar 2025
The story of TikTok in the U.S. is one that's had many chapters, to say the least.
First, then-President Donald Trump called for its ban in 2020. Then, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan law in 2024 requiring the company in charge of the video-sharing platform to sell the app or face a ban. Then, the app went dark this January after failing to sell, only to come back hours later, thanking newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump for his support in keeping the app operational. The president extended the deadline for the sale until April.
Why is the government so uncomfortable with TikTok and Chinese parent company ByteDance? What's going to happen in April when the same deadline to sell arises once again?
We discuss what the future holds for TikTok with our friends at the Click Here podcast.
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Fri, 21 Mar 2025
Republican Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas filed resolution to impeach the judge who ordered the Trump administration to stop deportations of Venezuelans.
Two federal judges have ordered tens of thousands of fired federal workers to be rehired in recent weeks, but the White House is moving to appeal the decision leading to more questions for and about the fates of federal workers.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed this week as Israel began airstrikes once again on the blockaded Strip.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spent 90 minutes on the phone this week discussing the war in Ukraine.
We cover all this and more during this week's News Roundup.
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Thu, 20 Mar 2025
More than forty percent of American families are struggling to find affordable childcare.
A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows that childcare for one infant now costs more than rent in 17 states and more than in-state college tuition in 38 states.
These increasing costs mean more parents of young children are at a crossroads: Drop out of the workforce to save on childcare, or have their salaries eaten up by high childcare costs?
We discuss the cost of childcare and the effect high childcare costs have on our economy.
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Thu, 20 Mar 2025
On Tuesday Israel broke the ceasefire deal with Hamas that brought relative peace to the Gaza Strip for about two months.
In just two minutes, Tuesday became one of the deadliest days in the war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli air strikes and a ground offensive killed more than 400 people and injured 500 more. According to Al Jazeera, most of the airstrikes this week have hit "heavily built-up neighborhoods, makeshift schools, and residential buildings where people are taking shelter."
Israel says it is trying to force Hamas to release the remaining 59 Israeli hostages and that it consulted the White House before resuming its attacks. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ceasefire negotiations will now happen "only under fire."
We discuss what this means for the people who have returned to the region.
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Wed, 19 Mar 2025
We recently spoke with personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary about how to manage money during times of uncertainty. Dozens of our listeners wrote it in with worries about the future of social security.
It's perhaps one of the most popular government programs in the country. Around 87 percent of Americans say social security should be a priority no matter what the state of the federal budget is. That's according to the National Institute on Retirement Security.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he doesn't plan to cut social security benefits. But he's also made some comments to the contrary.
We discuss the Trump administration's plans for the agency — and what they mean for the benefits it oversees.
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Tue, 18 Mar 2025
President Donald Trump has taken sweeping action to implement his agenda since beginning his second term.
That includes the laying off of thousands of federal workers from the nation's largest employer — the federal government, moving to overhaul the student loan repayment system by limiting access to certain repayment plans, and placing 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada — which he just as quickly suspended (though not before the stock market fell).
All of this has created a sense of economic uncertainty.
We discuss what you can do to secure your financial future.
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Mon, 17 Mar 2025
Donald Trump has not been shy about his disdain for the press. In his second term, the president is turning those fiery feelings into action.
Since assuming office, Trump has stepped up his litigious rampage against the media, suing ABC News, The Des Moines Register, CBS News, and pollster J. Ann Selzer.
And at the Federal Communications Commission, Trump-appointed chair Brendan Carr has promised to roll back regulations. In January, the FCC announced it would be investigating NPR and PBS over their underwriting practices.
We discuss what these actions mean for press freedom, you, and the health of U.S. democracy.
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Fri, 14 Mar 2025
Congressional Democrats were split over whether to support the bill that would avert a government shutdown. In the end Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted for the bill.
A federal judge ordered several federal agencies to rehire tens of thousands of probationary employees who were fired.
President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff discussed Washington's ceasefire proposal to end the war in Ukraine with Moscow officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was "in favor" and agreed in principle to the plan but has some conditions.
The government of Syria's Mohammad Al Sharaa announced a partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S. backed Kurdish rebel group. The move could be key in Syria's rebuilding.
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Thu, 13 Mar 2025
Since taking office, Donald Trump has made transforming federal policy on cryptocurrency a priority for his administration.
The Securities and Exchange Commission dropped lawsuits against two of the biggest crypto companies in the U.S. and dismissed investigations into others.
Last week, Trump announced the creation of a reserve of Bitcoin and other digital currencies — an estimated $17 million stockpile made up of Bitcoin that the U.S. has seized in legal cases over the years.
It's a far cry from his previous statements about crypto. In 2021, Trump called crypto a scam and "potentially a disaster waiting to happen."
We discuss what's changed and the President's personal investments in the crypto industry.
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Wed, 12 Mar 2025
You'll know when you're watching a Julio Torres project. The comedian, filmmaker, and comedy writer's work is surreal, aesthetic, and delightfully absurd.
His most recent works include "Problemista," a film about a young man looking for work in New York City. And it has something to say about the nightmarish aspects of the American visa system.
"Fantasmas," a six-part HBO series, finds Torres in search of a lost golden oyster earing, navigating through otherworldly vignettes.
His "Saturday Night Live" skits like "Papyrus" draw attention to absurdity in the smaller parts of life most of us overlook.
We talk to Torres about his work and his artistic style.
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Tue, 11 Mar 2025
About 55 million people in the world have dementia. That's according to the World Health Organization. It's also the seventh leading cause of death among the global population.
The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. It makes up 60 to 70 percent of cases. But it's well behind other chronic illnesses on the journey to an effective treatment.
The reason may be attributed to years of research based on doctored images. Investigative reporter Charles Piller uncovered that and much more about the world of Alzheimer's research in his new book, "Doctored."
We talk to Piller about this Alzheimer's, faulty research, and the search for an effective cure.
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Mon, 10 Mar 2025
Our neighbors to the north have a new leader. On Sunday, the Liberal Party of Canada held a leadership election to replace its outgoing party leader and prime minister, Justin Trudeau.
Its members chose Mark Carney, a former bank governor who has never held elected office. The change in leadership comes in the wake of the United States launching a trade war against Canada.
We discuss how the country's next prime minister might navigate such frosty relations.
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Mon, 10 Mar 2025
Much of the first two months of the Trump administration come down to two things: refusal to spend money appropriated by Congress and the decimation of the federal workforce, both which are being challenged in court.
Trump and his team have also let rules about the supervision of U.S. companies fall by the wayside.
What changes has the Trump administration made when it comes to anti-corruption measures, financial disclosures, and the agencies that supervise corporate America? What does it mean for politics, the rule of law, and your wallet?
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Fri, 07 Mar 2025
As President Donald Trump's trade war heats up, the stock market is going down. And his address to the joint session of Congress this week was the longest speech of its kind in the history of the presidency.
Following a turbulent meeting in the Oval Office, Trump says that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to make a deal. At a summit in Cairo, Arab leaders endorsed Egypt's plan to rebuild Gaza, allowing over 2 million Palestinians to return to the Strip.
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Thu, 06 Mar 2025
What is the centerpiece of your home?
Maybe a couch, but it's more likely a table. That's where we gather for our meals and recap our days. And that table is likely made of wood – oak, mahogany, maple, or perhaps pine. If it's built to last, wood provides the sturdy material for our most crucial furniture and it can last generations.
But a masterfully-built piece of furniture requires a master builder. That's where our guest comes in.
Callum Robinson is a woodworker, furniture maker, and the author of the new book "Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman." He sits down with us to to talk decor, woodworking, and more.
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Thu, 06 Mar 2025
Nnedi Okorafor is back on 1A.
And this time, the award-winning speculative fiction author is turning her eyes and her pen from the stars to a story a little closer to reality. But not by much.
"Death of the Author" is her latest novel. It's a book within a book that follows the story of a Nigerian author who publishes a work of science fiction that ends up affecting things far beyond her lifetime. Okorafor's book grapples with the relationship between art and artificial intelligence and the question of who controls a story.
We sit down with the author to talk about these themes and more.
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Wed, 05 Mar 2025
Unless you're a physicist, you've probably only encountered quantum mechanics on TV.
And even when it was explained, you might've still been a little confused.
The field of quantum mechanics was created a century ago. Today, scientists are using it to create methods of communication that can't be hacked, higher quality digital images, and to develop medications.
But many of us don't even understand what quantum mechanics is — or how it's deepening our understanding of the universe.
For today's installment of our series, "The Scientific Method," we answer your quantum-related questions.
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Mon, 03 Mar 2025
He's the CEO of one of the nation's most successful electric car brands. He owns a legacy social media company. By some estimates, he's the world's richest man.
But how much influence does he have over the federal government?
We discuss Elon Musk — the things he's done while working with the Department of Government Efficiency, the mistakes he and his team have made, and the place he'll have working with the administration going forward.
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Sat, 01 Mar 2025
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, posted a list of "receipts," of government misspending on federal contracts. After reporters found multiple inaccuracies, the department quietly deleted five of its biggest examples of savings.
Several House Republicans are cancelling constituent town halls following backlash at previous events across the country.
Meanwhile, overseas, this week marked three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. European leaders and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Kyiv in a show of support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The right won the German elections held on Sunday, in its best showing in decades. The AfD party, Alternative for Germany, the country's most anti-immigration party, made historic gains.
Tensions are simmering between Israel and Hamas. The two sides find themselves in a standoff over hostage body and prisoner exchanges. The handover would complete the first phase of ceasefire which expires this weekend.
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Thu, 27 Feb 2025
An unvaccinated child in Lubbock, Texas died after being hospitalized last week due to measles.
It's the first death in the outbreak that began last month, and the first death from measles in the United States since 2015.
Along with a rash and fever, measles can cause a host of serious health complications – blindness, pneumonia or encephalitis, and swelling of the brain. It's especially deadly for children younger than 5.
According to the most recent state data, at least 124 cases of measles have been reported in the state of Texas and at least nine cases in neighboring New Mexico. The majority of cases are in children aged 5 to 17 years old.
We share what you need to know about this recent outbreak, and the best ways to prevent transmission.
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Thu, 27 Feb 2025
Art, for many of us, is an escape.
Whether it's turning on your favorite album during a traffic-heavy commute or getting lost in your favorite book before bed – art helps us cope with the stresses of everyday life.
But how does the role of art shift when your way of life is turned upside down in an instant? That's what happened to Slava Leontyev, his wife, Anya, and their friend Andrey when Russia invaded Ukraine. Instead of leaving, the three Ukrainian artists chose to fight erasure and Russian aggression through their work.
A new documentary called "Porcelain War" follows their journey surviving and defending their country while holding onto their humanity.
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Wed, 26 Feb 2025
Avian influenza has killed millions of birds and caused egg prices to soar since it first emerged in U.S. poultry in 2022.
The virus has since jumped to other mammals, including people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 973 dairy herds infected with bird flu as of Feb. 21. And 70 cases among people in the U.S. since March of last year.
Cases of the avian flu, or H5N1, in dairy cows in Nevada and Arizona have scientists rethinking how the virus spreads.
We discuss the latest data on the strain detected in cows and how it might affect mitigation efforts.
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Wed, 26 Feb 2025
How do you tie together the stories of ancient Egypt, Robin Hood, Freddy Kreuger, and Hamlet – on a single stage?
Well, through time travel, of course. But also with the minds and talent of a group of actors at Sing Sing correctional facility in New York.
Such a play – titled "Breakin' the Mummy's Code" – was made possible through a program called RTA: Rehabilitation Through the Arts. It was born in 1996 after a group of incarcerated men at Sing Sing put on a few theater productions. They decided they wanted those productions to be something more – an organized group that could bring the power of theater to people inside prisons.
The program's story is now on the big screen in the film "Sing Sing." We talk to the people who made the movie possible.
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Tue, 25 Feb 2025
It's the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And the world looks very different now than it did then.
In the three years since Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces began their assault on their neighbor, tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers have perished. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been able to hold his enemies off with the help of support from the U.S.
But now that Donald Trump is in charge, that's likely to change. The president has made it no secret that he believes Zelenskyy should try and make peace with Putin, no matter what it might cost his country. In his first month in office, Trump has taken steps to isolate the U.S. from its allies in Western Europe and NATO, putting those countries on even shakier ground as they try and contend with the possibility of continued Russian aggression.
We discuss what the future of this conflict looks like for Ukraine.
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Tue, 25 Feb 2025
"Wicked: Part 1" follows the origin story of Elphaba, known in the original "Wizard of Oz" movie as the Wicked Witch of the West. And it follows her friend, Galinda, who eventually becomes the Good Witch.
The movie is based on the Broadway musical which debuted in 2003. Last year, it became the fourth-longest running musical in Broadway history. And that musical comes from a 1995 novel of the same name. The new Wicked movie stars singer-actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the witches Elphaba and Galinda.
The result this past weekend has been gravity-defying. "Wicked" brought in $114 million in North America and another $50 million internationally. That's the best-ever opening for a film adaptation of a Broadway musical.
For this meeting of the 1A Movie Club, we discuss the new "Wicked" film.
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Mon, 24 Feb 2025
"LONG LIVE THE KING!"
President Donald Trump posted that self-referential statement on Truth Social last week. He was celebrating his attempt to kill congestion pricing in New York City.
And several weeks ago, Trump declared, "He who saves his country does not violate any law."
His administration's actions are clear. They appear to be abandoning the American democracy we know. We discuss what a new American government could look like if our system of democracy no longer holds, and what it means for you, regardless of your political affiliation.
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Fri, 21 Feb 2025
Following the firings of a slew of employees at federal agencies responsible for things like fighting pandemics and taking care of nuclear weapons, the Trump administration is scrambling to rehire key positions.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune says that he and his Republican colleagues are moving forward with their plans for a budget, despite Trump endorsing a competing plan put forward by the House.
Meanwhile, European leaders gathered in Paris this week to discuss what the Trump administration's future relationship with the continent looks like.
And following weeks of a shaky ceasefire, Hamas has offered to return all of its hostages to Israel in return for a permanent truce.
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Thu, 20 Feb 2025
David Lynch, an icon of American cinema, died last month at 78 years old.
As a filmmaker, he was known for his eccentric and dark depictions of American life – as illustrated in his 1986 film "Blue Velvet."
And in "Twin Peaks." His small-town mystery series aired for two seasons beginning in 1990 leading to a film and a 2017 reboot.
Of course, his imagination wasn't limited to small towns and suburbia. His films included an adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune," and he showed off his love for Los Angeles in films like "Mulholland Drive."
We look back at David Lynch's life and career.
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Wed, 19 Feb 2025
It was an abrupt about-face. Last Thursday, federal employees at the agency that manages the U.S. stockpile of nuclear weapons were suddenly let go by the Trump administration, with some employees receiving the news late Thursday night.
Then, as early as the next morning, some of those firings were reversed, with employees being told they should come back to work.
The White House has struggled to reach some of the employees it fired to tell them that they still have their jobs.
We discuss what's happening at the Department of Energy's agency for our nuclear stockpile and what this latest firing of federal employees could mean for our security.
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Wed, 19 Feb 2025
We all know the classics: Monopoly, Backgammon, Checkers, and many more.
For some, board games are relegated to the dregs of American entertainment, to be broken out at bad parties and played by candlelight on nights where the power's out.
But for many, a new wave of board game production and enthusiasm has them clearing calendars and pulling up a chair.
We discuss what's driving the tabletop gaming surge and what it means for an industry that's primarily analog.
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Tue, 18 Feb 2025
A November 2024 Pew Research survey found that nearly-half of Democrats are pessimistic about the party's future, compared to only 13 percent of Republicans.
The 2024 election was a rude awakening for leaders on the left, many of whom are grappling with how to shift the public perception of the party.
In this latest edition of "If You Can Keep It," we get at the heart of this political moment and ask the questions that really matter about the state of our democracy.
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Tue, 18 Feb 2025
The effects of climate change are being felt more than ever. We've seen the devastation caused by storms and floods.
Most recently, we watched the West Coast go up in flames flames, displacing thousands and destroying homes.
But what about what lingers behind? What stays in the air that we breathe?
Smoke can have a real impact on our health. As more of our forests start to burn due to increased temperatures, more smoke is going to be floating around our country and world.
We discuss the effects of fire smoke in the short and long term.
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Mon, 17 Feb 2025
We've heard about a lot of them the last few weeks.
They're one powerful tool in a commander-in-chief's arsenal to enact their agenda.
Donald Trump has made heavy use of the executive order in the past few weeks, but so have his predecessors. Both Joe Biden and Barack Obama issued many Executive Orders during their times in office.
We discuss the practice and boundaries of Executive Orders.
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Fri, 14 Feb 2025
The White House is moving ahead with its plan to significantly reduce the federal workforce.
Also this week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr was confirmed as the Secretary for Health and Human Services in a 52-48 vote, even after several senators raised concerns about his record of an anti-vaccine activism.
And in global news, Donald Trump spent time on the phone with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and hopes negotiations to end the war will begin immediately.
The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came under strain this week as Hamas announced that it would delay the release of three hostages in Gaza on Saturday in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel.
We discuss all this and more during the News Roundup.
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Thu, 13 Feb 2025
As of Tuesday, President Donald Trump has signed seven executive orders or proclamations related to DEI.
They include ending virtually all such programs in the federal government, calling them "illegal," and "Ending racial indoctrination in K through 12 schooling."
According to the Trump administration, that includes teaching "gender ideology and critical race theory" in the classroom.
A number of private companies and institutions are following suit. Target, Google, Meta, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, and PBS are just a few now changing or eliminating their DEI initiatives following Trump's orders.
We explore what DEI actually means, and what happens when we just get rid of it.
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Thu, 13 Feb 2025
In 2021, Trent Dalton sat down with a typewriter on a busy corner in Brisbane, Australia, and asked people to tell him their love stories.
Those tales are now collected in his first book, "Love Stories." It's over 300 pages and talks about the meaning of love, from strangers and Dalton alike.
As a nod to Valentine's Day, we revisit our conversation with Dalton about his book "Love Stories."
We discuss what it means to know love and talk and how to talk about it with strangers.
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Wed, 12 Feb 2025
Having trouble finding eggs in the grocery store this week? You're not alone. Bird flu is roiling egg farms across the country.
In April 2024, the first hens tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or H5N1. Since then, the avian flu has spread to turkeys, cows, and humans.
What are farmers doing to protect their flocks? And how worried should we be about catching it?
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Wed, 12 Feb 2025
It's not uncommon — or even always bad — to drink on a date. But most of us have a story of over-doing it and having one too many drinks.
At what point does alcohol hinder our ability to make true romantic connections, or blunt our decision-making so that we wind up with someone our sober selves wouldn't have chosen?
Dry dating is becoming more popular. According to a 2024 survey from the dating site DatingNews.com, nearly 2 in 3 Gen-Z and Millennials said they preferred alcohol-free dates.
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we talk about the benefits of dating and intimacy without alcohol.
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Tue, 11 Feb 2025
It's been three crazy weeks. It can be hard to keep up with the new commander-in-chief.
There are at least 45 challenges in the courts against the Trump administration. These complaints are broad in scope, dealing with the role of Elon Musk's new Department of Government Efficiency to the gutting of The United States Agency for International Development.
Judges are beginning to step in and put a damper on Trump's plans. But will the judicial branch keep the executive branch in check? We answer the question on a lot of people's minds these days: Can he do that?
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Tue, 11 Feb 2025
Does distance really make the heart grow fonder?
A growing number of couples who are choosing to live apart together (LAT) seem to think so. These lovers are in a committed relationship but live or sleep separately.
Between 2000 and 2022, the percentage of married couples who decided to live apart grew by more than 40 percent. The trend has been driven mainly by older women.
New research from a U.K. household study found that older couples who decided to live in separate places have better mental health.
With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we discuss what living apart together looks like.
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Mon, 10 Feb 2025
President Donald Trump has dominated the news cycle in the earliest days of office, firing off rounds of executive orders, turning billionaire Elon Musk loose on the federal workforce, and blitzing the press.
But where is the opposition? Democrats lost big in 2024, ceding control of the Senate, House, and the presidency to the GOP. But as Trump continues to swing big at our governing apparatus, they've been more passive than some Americans would like.
Where does the party go from here? And what sort of plan do they have to respond to Trump's plans for the next four years?
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Fri, 07 Feb 2025
All USAID workers were placed on leave effective Friday, Donald Trump and his administration are now turning their attention to the Department of Education.
Millions of federal workers now have more time to make a decision after a judge suspended the Office of Personnel Management's deadline for them to accept, or reject, the agency's "deferred resignation" offer.
Meanwhile, President Trump suggested that the U.S. might take over Gaza and that Palestinians will relocate to neighboring countries.
And the trade war with China is heating up. Tariffs on goods imported from the country are causing the prices of clothes, toys, and electronics to surge.
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Thu, 06 Feb 2025
USAID workers worldwide were pulled off the job Tuesday as President Donald Trump's administration posted notices online and sent emails telling employees that the government's spending overseas is now considered a waste and that they have 30 days to return home.
These workers have also been placed on leave effective midnight Friday. The organization's website was recently taken offline. What happens next?
We discuss what these moves mean for the future of America's international relationships and the potential consequences for people around the world who relied on this work and funding.
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Wed, 05 Feb 2025
The Trump Administration's FCC Chair, Brendan Carr, has already made some moves when it comes to media.
Only two days on the job, Carr reinstated complaints against ABC, CBS, and NBC for bias against Trump during the 2024 election.
Last Thursday, he ordered an investigation into NPR and PBS for allegedly running advertisements.
We discuss how the FCC regulates media and protects free speech.
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Tue, 04 Feb 2025
The graduating class of 2025 is the largest the country has ever seen — around 3.9 million students. That's according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
And it'll likely be the largest group for a while.
That's because starting next school year, the number of high school seniors is expected to drop sharply. That's partly due to low birth rates connected to the 2008 recession.
We discuss how colleges and universities are grappling with declining enrollment.
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Mon, 03 Feb 2025
On the 2024 campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed to end a regulatory crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry.
Crypto was part of the deluge of first-week executive orders from the new administration. Trump established a working group on digital asset markets that is chaired by his new crypto AI Czar David Sacks.
Trump meanwhile made crypto moves for himself that could potentially put billions in his pocket.
For this week's installment of our series "If You Can Keep It," we take a closer look at of this and why it matters to you.
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Fri, 31 Jan 2025
An American Airlines plane collided with a helicopter on Wednesday in Washington D.C., sending both crashing into the Potomac River. There are no survivors.
Donald Trump ordered a freeze of all federal grants, disrupting vital national processes.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Palestinians are making their way back into the northern parts of Gaza. Israel's ban on working with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency goes into effect this week.
A new Chinese AI app, called DeepSeek, has upended the tech industry and Wall Street. Industry watchers note the country's programmers can deliver a product on par with that of the West, for a fraction of the cost and without access to similar hardware.
We cover all this and more during the News Roundup.
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Thu, 30 Jan 2025
Fluoride in American tap water is nothing new. We've been safely adding it to our drinking water for decades and staved off tooth decay in our population.
But new skepticism has some Americans wondering about the benefits of the practice. This is in large part thanks to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump's pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services.
We discuss why fluoride is added to our water supply, the risks and benefits.
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Wed, 29 Jan 2025
It was instrumental in coordinating global action during the pandemic. However, that meant became a target for the president of then and now.
The World Health Organization helps to protect and maintain the health of the world's population. It receives about 10 percent of its budget from the United States. President Donald Trump, however, doesn't see a lot of value in its work, signing an executive order Monday to withdraw America from the membership of the agency.
He called the organization "corrupt" and has accused it of taking more from the U.S. than it gives.
We discuss the future of global health without America at the table of one of its greatest proponents.
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Wed, 29 Jan 2025
Social media bans for minors have been making the rounds internationally. Now, Congress is looking to follow that lead.
In November, Australia imposed a sweeping ban on social media for users under 16 years old. The ban holds social media companies responsible for enforcing age restrictions on their sites and prohibits minors under that age limit from using those platforms or creating new accounts.
The law doesn't name specific apps or websites, but companies could face fines of up to $32 million if they violate the ban.
We discuss how social media bans like Australia's are enforced and what it would take to pass similar measures in the U.S.
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Tue, 28 Jan 2025
Humans love to connect. We're social like that. Whether we're sending telegrams, calling each other on the telephone, or DM'ing each other on the social media platform of our choosing, we're interacting.
Whether or not that constant connection is a good thing is another matter entirely. Writer and author Nicholas Carr spends a lot of time thinking about that very question (and others like it). His new book, "Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart," tells a story of the parallel rises of mechanical, efficient electronic communication and mass confusion.
But it's not just the fault of tech giants and social media companies. Carr encourages us to look inward and consider how our own psyches play a role. He joins us to talk about the realities of social media and constant connection.
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Tue, 28 Jan 2025
It's a moment that's run through President Donald Trump's first week in office — a bishop in Washington imploring the incoming commander in chief to show mercy to the less powerful during a national prayer service.
This simple claim meant a lot to million worrying for the future of their country. It also offended many more who think it's on the right track.
But that hasn't caused Bishop Marian Budde to waver in her convictions.
She joins us to discuss her faith, what that moment meant to her, and what she hopes for the future of the U.S.
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Mon, 27 Jan 2025
The first week of President Trump's new term ended with a late-night purge of around 17 federal inspectors general on Friday.
The exact total is still unclear. Trump said the move was a, quote, "very standard thing to do." But federal law requires a 30-day notification to Congress before inspectors general can be removed from their posts.
Also, in the first week of his second term – four Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit to stop President Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship. On Thursday a federal judge in Seattle temporarily halted the implementation of the order, calling it, quote, "blatantly unconstitutional."
Our series, "If You Can Keep It," cuts through political noise to consider the state of our Democratic Republic and what matters to you.
We discuss the IG purge, take a closer look at the legal challenges to Trump's early moves, and how the Constitution guides our understanding of executive power today.
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Fri, 24 Jan 2025
Donald Trump's first week back in office has been frenetic. The 47th president issued a slew of executive orders and actions on subjects ranging from immigration to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
And a Bishop made a heartfelt plea directly to the president and Vice President JD Vance, asking them to show mercy towards immigrants and LGBTQ youth.
Friday marks five days since the beginning of the first stage of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. And this week the Israeli Defense Force launched renewed raids into the city of Jenin in the Occupied West Bank, killing at least 12 Palestinians.
Pope Francis had strong words for Donald Trump as the president began to implement plans to target immigrants living in the U.S.
Despite campaign trail promises, the war in Ukraine did not end on the first day of Donald Trump's presidency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pondered this week whether Trump would even pay Europe much notice.
We get into all this and more during this week's News Roundup.
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Thu, 23 Jan 2025
Tesla's Elon Musk, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos were all in attendance Monday as President Donald Trump was sworn into office. In fact, they had better seats than most.
Tech Industry Titans have spent months cozying up to the 47th president of the United States. Musk made campaign appearances with Trump. Zuckerberg has switched up his cultural rhetoric to fall in line with the new administration. And Bezos's companies are investing in the first family.
Then there's TikTok thanking then President-elect Trump for signaling he'd keep the app around for Americans following its recent blackout (despite the app's ban being initially pushed by Trump himself).
We discuss the significance of these men working so closely with the new administration.
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Wed, 22 Jan 2025
In his first moments as president, Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive actions targeting immigration. These include declaring a national emergency at the southern border and ending birthright citizenship.
The Trump administration also unveiled a plan to deploy as many as 200 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to conduct raids targeting undocumented migrants in cities across the country this week. And a memo from the Department of Homeland Security gives immigration enforcement officials the ability to enter schools and places of worship.In 2022, 11 million people were living in the U.S. without legal status.
We go over what Trump's immigration policies will mean for them — and what the fight to make them law will look like.
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Tue, 21 Jan 2025
President Donald Trump issued a sweeping pardon of January 6 rioters within hours of taking office. The move came among dozens of other executive actions concerning things like remote work and immigration.
Trump took time to talk about those orders in his inauguration remarks, saying, "With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense."
The president is making good on repeated promises for what aides called "shock and awe" on his first day. We break down what this slew of orders means for the U.S.
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Mon, 20 Jan 2025
A lot has changed in the United States since the last presidential inauguration in January of 2021.
Four years ago, the world was managing a global pandemic, the U.S. was coming to terms with an insurrection on our democracy, and Donald Trump was on his way out of the White House.
In just a few hours, he'll be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on the steps of the Capitol building.
We discuss the first items on his agenda and hear your thoughts on his upcoming presidency.
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Fri, 17 Jan 2025
Republican officials are hinting that they may withhold aid from California in the wake of devastating fires unless "conditions are met."
President Joe Biden bid farewell to the nation in his final address, warning Americans against the dangers of populism.
Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal that will begin a path for the war in Gaza to end.
And Ukraine arrested has North Korean troops fighting for Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr said Ukraine is ready to send them back to their homeland in exchange for its own soldiers held in Russia.
1A's Todd Zwillich guides us through the week's biggest headlines for this installment of the News Roundup.
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Thu, 16 Jan 2025
For the this installment of our (dot) GOV series, we're taking a closer look at two departments with big responsibilities.
The Department of the Interior is tasked with protecting and managing the nation's "natural resources and cultural heritage." It's often referred to as "The Department of Everything Else." It's made up of about 70-thousand workers.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy sounds a bit more straightforward – but even then, what exactly does "energy" entail – especially in an agency with about 13-thousand federal workers?
We dig into the departments and the people running them.
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Thu, 16 Jan 2025
Negotiators have reached a ceasefire deal, with a path to ending Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza. It is set to begin on Jan. 19.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas' attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. In response, Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza.
Gaza's health ministry says more than 46,500 people have been killed during the war. A new, peer-reviewed study in The Lancet suggests that the death toll could be 40 percent higher than that tally. Israel says 94 of the hostages remain in Gaza, of whom 34 are presumed dead.
We talk about what this deal means for both sides and for the future of the Middle East.
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Wed, 15 Jan 2025
It's safe to say most Americans hear the most about the U.S. Department of Agriculture when things go wrong — namely when something has to be recalled.
But the department is responsible for so much more than just delivering bad news. It consists of 29 agencies that employ some 100,000 employees across 4,500 locations both domestic and abroad.
Another agency whose name shows up when things go wrong is the Environmental Protection Agency. As its name implies, it's tasked with creating and upholding standards that protect the health of Americans and our environment, including our natural resources and ecosystems. It's an important, if sometimes thankless, responsibility.
We discuss what the agencies and their responsibilities.
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Tue, 14 Jan 2025
It's the country's least favorite federal agency. Especially around this time of year.
The Internal Revenue Service is responsible for collecting America's taxes and administering tax laws. Which means it draws a lot of ire from our nation's citizens. But the work it does is vital to funding federal agencies, services, programs, and much more.
In the same vein, the Department of the Treasury is responsible for managing federal finances. The public probably best knows it for its influence on interest rates.
We discuss how the agencies work together and how their employees work for the country.
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Mon, 13 Jan 2025
You've probably heard President-elect Donald Trump say he plans to close the Department of Education.
It's the smallest of the cabinet-level federal agencies, with just over 4,000 employees. Its 2024 budget was $275 billion. That's 4 percent of all federal funding.
Trump's plans to completely shutter the department are unlikely to happen. He may, however, make big changes to it, shifting many of its responsibility to other agencies.
But what are those responsibilities exactly? And who carries them out? As part of our series on federal workers, dot Gov, we're diving into the Department of Education today to talk about its functions and what the future president's plans for it mean for the American people.
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Fri, 10 Jan 2025
Firefighters battle to control several of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed at least five people, razed communities and forced thousands from their homes.
A New York court declines incoming President Trump's request to halt criminal sentencing in his felony sex scandal cover up case.
Meanwhile, the Danish king changed the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature the territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. That comes after President-elect Donald Trump seems to suggest he could try to acquire them by force.
Following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's announcement of his resignation on Monday, many are wondering who will now lead the country's Liberal Party.
The State Department announces that Sudan's rebels have committed genocide and violence that have produced a "large humanitarian catastrophe."
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Thu, 09 Jan 2025
Donald Trump and the Department of Justice have a tumultuous relationship to say the least. It's become a focal point of the president-elect's campaign against the federal government. He's threatened to fire many of its employees and frequently brought up issues with the DOJ during his 2024 campaign speeches.
This week, the Justice Department announced its intention to release part of its report on Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. But officials plan to keep the part of the report detailing his mishandling of files at his Mar-a-Lago resort confidential.
Trump has threatened to fire Jack Smith, the special attorney handling both cases.
As part of our dot Gov series, we take a look at the role the Justice Department plays in our government. We discuss Trump's vision for the agency and what it means for the people who work there.
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Thu, 09 Jan 2025
Jimmy Carter, the longest-living president of the United States, died in late December at the age of 100. Carter served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981.
In October, 1A marked Carter's centenary birthday, looking back at his political career and post-presidential work. We heard from many of you wishing him a happy birthday and sharing stories about meeting Jimmy Carter in person.
Carter was also guest on 1A in 2018 to talk about his book, "Faith: A Journey for All." A devout evangelical Christian, he spoke at length about his religious values. He also spoke about the importance of faith to all people, including those who don't identify as religious.
His funeral took place in Washington D.C. President Joe Biden declared this Thursday a national day of mourning. As part of the celebration of President Carter's life, we remember his legacy.
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Wed, 08 Jan 2025
The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for protecting the health of all Americans.
It administers insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid, approves food and drug products through the FDA, and oversees vaccines to prevent the spread of infectious diseases through the CDC.
As the largest civilian agency in the government, HHS employs more than 80,000 federal workers. But it's also an agency that could face significant changes under the incoming Trump administration.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal anti-vaccine activist, will head HHS if confirmed in the Senate. And President-elect Trump has promised to "dismantle government bureaucracy" by slashing the federal workforce.
For this installment of our (dot) Gov series, we discuss what the move means for the work HHS employees.
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Tue, 07 Jan 2025
Few Americans familiar with the federal government are unaware of the Department of Defense. The DOD is one of our largest agencies with a budget of $2 trillion dollars. That's roughly 16 percent of the entire federal budget.
And few veterans are unaware of the Department of Veterans Affairs, also called the VA. It facilitates programs that benefit those who've served in the armed forces and their families.
But who's watching over that trillion-dollar defense budget? And who's making sure those programs that help veterans are working?
For this installment of (dot) Gov, we dive into the federal workers who help make sure the DOD and the VA stay up and running.
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Mon, 06 Jan 2025
Four years ago on Jan. 6, journalist Kate Woodsome was at the U.S. Capitol. She was calm as a small group surrounded her, shouting. What happened next reverberated around the country for years to come.
The storming of the Capitol was a historic moment for the United States. But it was also a crucial turning point in the life of that Washington Post reporter at the center of the vitriol.
In the four years since, she's made major changes in her professional and personal life. She's also shifted her thinking about our divided nation.
Woodsome joins us to to reflect on what happened that day and what it meant for her relationships, her work, and her country.
To read more of Kate Woodsome's work, check out the Invisible Threads newsletter.
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Mon, 06 Jan 2025
President-elect Donald Trump says federal workers' jobs are on the chopping block under his incoming administration, citing waste and promising to "dismantle government bureaucracy."
The more than 2 million government workers across the country – at least 80 percent of whom are located outside DC – do critical work that keeps all facets of U.S. life running.
While the president-elect's rhetoric is concerning for them, problems with the upkeep and setup of our federal agencies do persist.
We launch our new series, dot Gov, with a look at the past, present and future of the federal workforce, and what's at stake for all Americans as these workers face changes under a new administration.
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Fri, 03 Jan 2025
President Jimmy Carter died this week at 100, the first president to reach his centenary birthday.
A truck plowed into crowds in the early hours of New Years Day in New Orleans, killing 15 and injuring dozens more. The driver was killed following an exchange of fire with police.
Overseas, a South Korean court approved an arrest warrant for impeached and President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law on the country in late 2024.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he believes the war his country is fighting to repel a Russian invasion will be over after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
World Health Organization officials are urging Israeli authorities to cease attacking medical facilities in Gaza.
We cover all this and more during the News Roundup.
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Thu, 02 Jan 2025
They are best friends who are with us through all of life's ups and downs. They love us unconditionally, even when we aren't our best selves.
Many people consider their pets to be part of their family. That's why when our pet companions pass away, it can be devastating. Some research suggests that losing a pet can be even more difficult to cope with than the death of a family member.
Today, more people are seeking out pet loss support. There's also a movement to push for more policies at work like pet bereavement.
We discuss how our understanding of grieving over the loss of a pet is evolving, and how we support those experiencing the loss.
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Wed, 01 Jan 2025
Writing a book can be hard. Add in the twists and turns of a mystery... Where to even start?!
Three authors join us today to help us cozy up to confusing capers. In the latest edition of our "Ask A" series, we're asking mystery novelists about how they mystify and confound amateur sleuths and gumshoes the world over.
From the red herrings to the smoking guns, how do they craft their whodunits?
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Tue, 31 Dec 2024
2024 was a hard year for people who make games — the industry saw mass layoffs and increasing consolidation. But for the people who play them, releases didn't slow down.
Indie developers released games like the monster-hunting game "Palworld" and "Animal Well," an expansive puzzle game.
Big developers moved some releases back — like new additions to the "Assassin's Creed" and "Grand Theft Auto" series. Remakes of legendary titles from the "Silent Hill" and "Final Fantasy" series delighted longtime fans. And "Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom" saw Princess Zelda take a leading role.
In this installment of Game Mode, we get into the video games of 2024 and what this year can tell us about the state of the video game industry.
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Mon, 30 Dec 2024
Art, for many of us, is an escape.
Whether it's turning on your favorite album during a traffic-heavy commute or getting lost in your favorite book before bed – art helps us cope with the stresses of everyday life.
But how does the role of art shift when your way of life is turned upside down in an instant? That's what happened to Slava Leontyev, his wife, Anya, and their friend Andrey when Russia invaded Ukraine. Instead of leaving, the three Ukrainian artists chose to fight erasure and Russian aggression through their work.
A new documentary called "Porcelain War" follows their journey surviving and defending their country while holding onto their humanity.
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Fri, 27 Dec 2024
If you live in a U.S. city, you've likely seen a rat or two running around. According to the pest control company, Orkin, an estimated 21 million U.S. homes face rodent invasions, each fall.
But rats play a much larger role in human history. These creatures have been sacrificed for the advancement of scientific research.
Rats are complicated — and it inspire equally complicated feelings in us.
This year, New York City held its first ever annual national urban rat summit to address the city's chronic rat problems.
Rats pose real health and safety risks to human, we discuss what we lose by only seeing them as pests.
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Thu, 26 Dec 2024
2024's year in film saw a sequel 36 years in the making.
There was also a musical that had theater-goers singing along. And a drama-comedy set around a Polish Holocaust tour.
We break down the best and most disappointing films of the year. We also talk documentaries, TV shows you need to binge, and what to plan to watch in the new year.
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Wed, 25 Dec 2024
Kris Bowers is no stranger to using music to build a world. The Oscar-winning composer has worked on films like "Green Book," 'Origin," and "The Color Purple," and on the hit Netflix series "Bridgerton." He's also known for his on-the-spot compositions, illustrated in this conversation with 1A Entertainment Correspondent John Horn.
His latest project is "The Wild Robot". In the animated feature directed by Chris Sanders, Roz is a robot is marooned on a deserted island, unable to communicate with the animals and the natural world she finds herself in.
As her programming evolves, and as she learns to speak to her animal neighbors, the score evolves with her.
Kris Bowers joins us to talk about putting music to this wild world.
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Tue, 24 Dec 2024
Think back to the first time someone told you about the game Tetris. Was it a friend? An older sibling or a parent? Maybe you saw someone playing it at an arcade.
How long did it take you to get what Tetris is — what you had to accomplish in the game and how to play it?
2024 boasts the 40th anniversary of the classic game of falling blocks, known as tetrominoes.
More than 520 million copies of Tetris have been sold since its worldwide release in the 1980s.
For our series "Game Mode", we're setting up to stack — looking at the game's history and why it became and has stayed popular.
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Mon, 23 Dec 2024
Most of us know that trees can help reduce the impacts of climate change by taking in carbon dioxide.
Most of us also know that scientists and environmental authorities have been sounding alarms for the better part of the last decade about the devastating effects of climate change.
Could trees store enough carbon, with a lot of help from us, to offset humanity's carbon emissions? What's the role of trees in our fight against climate change? And what's better left to other climate solutions?
We talk to an author whose new book explores whether or not serious reforestation efforts can really be an effective solution to reducing the carbon in our atmosphere.
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Sun, 22 Dec 2024
It's no surprise we love talking about food here at 1A.
From the latest cookbooks to answering your questions about your favorite foods.
As a holiday treat, we're bringing you highlights from the latest episode of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Radio Podcast.
For the complete episode, and to learn more about Milk Street be sure to visit milkstreetradio.com.
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Fri, 20 Dec 2024
Just hours before federal funding for the government runs out, Congress is left scrambling to find a way to keep the government open after midnight tonight.
Meanwhile, a New York judge has decided that Trump can't use his presidential immunity to shed his felony conviction.
And Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, was charged with murder as an act of terrorism.
In global news, following the fall of the Assad regime, prosecutors, aid workers, and journalists are learning more about the atrocities committed under Syria's former president.
Israeli attacks on hospitals in northern Gaza have left the medical facilities barely able to provide basic care and no longer capable of surgical procedures or maternal services.
And Canada's embattled prime minister, Justin Trudeau, saw his position as the country's leader weaken this week after the resignation of his finance minister.
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Thu, 19 Dec 2024
It's the holiday season.
And that means time spent with friends, with family, and... in the car. Or a plane. Or a train. Or maybe even by boat.
But one thing's for sure. America will be on the move here soon if it's not already.
Where are we going, what's waiting for us when we get there, and why is it so difficult sometimes to get where we need to go at the end of another year?
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Wed, 18 Dec 2024
Have you ever gotten into an impassioned argument in the shower with a sparring partner who... wasn't actually there?
How about replaying a dinner party conversation from weeks ago but this time, you know exactly what to say and you're saying it... to yourself?
Whether the dialogue is in our heads or said aloud, many of us talk to ourselves, even if we don't realize it. But oftentimes the habit is seen as strange — especially if there are others around.
We get into why so many of us talk to ourselves, and what the benefits of self-talk.
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Tue, 17 Dec 2024
The Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates after two years of rate hikes to the highest levels in decades.
It meets again this week to decide whether to cut them again, or keep them as is.
High interest rates made the cost of borrowing high, meaning that car loans, credit card debt, and mortgages cost exponentially more than before the pandemic.
We discuss how the Fed's decision to lower rates affects the economy.
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Mon, 16 Dec 2024
Last week, the House passed a bill to create 63 new permanent judgeships. Case backlogs and delays have had many lawmakers saying we need more federal judges. If the bill did become law, President-elect Donald Trump would have 22 new seats to fill. The legislation originally had bipartisan support, but President Joe Biden vowed to veto it, with the support of many Democrats.
In his first term, Trump put more judges in place than almost any president in history. Biden has made his mark too, surpassing that number. As of last week, he had also put more judges of color on the bench than any of his predecessors.
Federal judges almost always serve life terms, meaning each of these picks can have lasting consequences for Americans.
We look back and look ahead at our federal judiciary.
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Sun, 15 Dec 2024
Bill Browder is a financier turned anti-corruption campaigner. He made his fortune in post-Soviet Russia before falling afoul of Putin.
We last spoke to him back in 2018. Back then, few imagined Russia would dare carry out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But Browder wasn't one of them.
Now, with Donald Trump's return to the White House just weeks away, the newly knighted Browder tell us world leaders must act. He joins us to explain why Putin remains such a huge threat to Ukraine and the world.
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Fri, 13 Dec 2024
The alleged shooter of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Luigi Mangione, was apprehended this week in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an employee at a local McDonald's phoned authorities claiming to have recognized him from photographs provided by New York police.
President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 1,500 Americans this week. According to his administration, it's a single-day record.
After rebels took control of the Syrian capital of Aleppo, President Bashar al-Assad fled the country and has been granted asylum in Russia. Now, the world is asking what's next for the country and for the region.
The rebels have also dealt a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin's ambitions in Europe and the Mediterranean. His forces' main point of entry to the sea was tied to the Assad dynasty. Russia's military presence on the Syrian coast is now in jeopardy.
We cover all these stories and more during the News Roundup.
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Fri, 13 Dec 2024
There are few books in the world that most people have heard of. There are even fewer so recognizable that are 500,000 words long.
That's right, we're talking about the dictionary.
The Oxford English Dictionary is the longest English variant of its kind in the world. But many of those who made significant contributions to its creation went unknown for years — until now. These included hundreds of women, people without formal educations, and patients in mental institutions.
In other words, the people who helped make the OED were as diverse as the words in it. We discuss how the Oxford English Dictionary came to be and how our relationship to the dictionary has changed.
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Thu, 12 Dec 2024
Pasteurization is the process that rids milk of bacteria. But more people are opting for unpasteurized milk, also known as raw milk. In May, sales of raw milk rose more than 20 percent compared to the year before. That's according to Nielson IQ, a market research firm.
But consuming raw milk comes with significant risks.
In late November, California regulators recalled some raw milk products after detecting bird flu virus. And last week, the USDA ordered testing across the nation's milk supply over bird flu concerns — an issue that began back in March.
Although both the CDC and FDA caution against the consumption of raw milk, the product is being pushed by some right-wing conservatives. One of the most prominent proponents of raw milk is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — President-elect Donald Trump's pick to serve as secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services.
We discuss why people are drinking raw milk despite the risks.
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Wed, 11 Dec 2024
2024 was, in many ways, a year of elections.
Both home and abroad.President-elect Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November. He won a second term in office and will be headed back to Washington come January.
Across the globe, an election took place in India in seven stages starting in the spring and ending in June. Voters in Pakistan and Indonesia also went to the polls. European governments in France, Slovakia, the U.K. all saw switch ups. Germany, a financial powerhouse in the E.U., called a snap election for early 2025.
We discuss the democratic elections around the world and what the outcomes reflect when it comes to the wishes of voters.
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Tue, 10 Dec 2024
Over the past year, the Chinese government has stepped up its cyber operations, focusing not just on espionage or stealing intellectual property, but on hacking to bolster geopolitical goals.
U.S. authorities and institutions are used to digital aggression from the likes of Russia. But are now freshly reconsidering the objectives and capabilities of one of the country's other eastern rivals.
We discuss those goals and how China using cyberspace to achieve them. We also discuss the latest from Russia.
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Tue, 10 Dec 2024
$10 billion. That's how much money was taken from Americans in fraud schemes last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Many of those crimes – specifically those involving imposters – often start with a phone call or a text and a made-up claim. Victims can hand over thousands of dollars. And they often feel ashamed about being duped by these criminals.
How do we let go of the stigma around being scammed? And what's being done about the increasingly elaborate ways scammers are stealing people's money?
The Washington Post's Michelle Singletary helps us answer
those questions.
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Mon, 09 Dec 2024
President-elect Donald Trump is packing his administration with incredibly wealthy businesspeople. His picks make up what could be the wealthiest government in U.S. history – worth about $340 billion.
Watchdog groups are sounding the alarm, saying the business interests of many of these powerful picks are at odds with what's best for the American people.
Trump himself is again bringing financial conflicts into office, too. But this time, there are fewer guardrails to prevent abuses of power for his financial gain. Meanwhile, new Trump organization business deals are on the horizon.
We discuss why this matter for the American people, and if our government can protect itself from financial conflicts at its highest levels of power.
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Mon, 09 Dec 2024
On Sunday, Syrian rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) made its final march on the Syrian capital of Damascus. The rebels had already claimed the major cities of Aleppo, Hama and Homs.
In a matter of hours and with little violence, Syrian government forces abandoned their posts and HTS claimed victory. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled the country and has been granted asylum in Russia.
After more than five decades, Syria is no longer under the rule of the Assad dynasty. And the region is transformed forever.
But as people rejoice across Syria – what's left is immense uncertainty about the future of the country's government and its place in the region.
We get to the latest and look to the future for both Syria and the Middle East.
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Sun, 08 Dec 2024
Before Kelly Bishop found her way into our hearts as Emily Gilmore, she danced her way into history in Broadway's "A Chorus Line" and the movie "Dirty Dancing."
Most recently, you might have seen her as Mrs. Ivey in Hulu's "The Watchful Eye."
But chances are you probably recognize the Tony-Award winner from her role as the matriarch of Stars Hollow. She joins us to talk about her new memoir, "The Third Gilmore Girl."
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Fri, 06 Dec 2024
A manhunt is underway in New York City for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He was shot and killed on a busy Midtown Manhattan street in a targeted early morning attack.
And despite saying that he wouldn't do so, President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, this week for federal crimes.
Also this week, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. The move was rejected by the parliament and reversed by the president six hours later. His political future hangs in limbo.
And rebel groups now control significant parts of the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Hama, forcing government forces to retreat.
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Fri, 06 Dec 2024
Bananas are the world's most popular and most consumed fruit. They are also one of the most important agricultural commodities and food staples for hundreds of millions of people around the world.
The fruit is also in danger of going extinct.
The Panama Disease or TR-4 is threatening the most widely exported variety of the banana, the Cavendish. It makes up 99 percent of global banana exports, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. But it's vulnerable to an aggressive fungal disease that is invading areas where most of the banana supply is produced.
And it's happened before. Until the 1950s, consumers were eating a different variety of banana before it succumbed to an invading fungal disease. Now scientists are racing against the clock to save the banana – again.
We discuss what's being done to save the world's favorite fruit.
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Thu, 05 Dec 2024
The start of December brings holiday cheer. And... the flu. Peak season is from December to February. So are we ready?
We talk about vaccine hesitancy this flu season. We also get into what we know about the public health policies of the incoming Trump administration.
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Wed, 04 Dec 2024
President-elect Donald Trump hasn't been shy about his love for tariffs. And now, he hopes to make good on campaign promises to implement them.
In practice, these tariffs could raise the prices of a variety of everyday goods including groceries. Economic issues like inflation led many voters to Trump. However, economists have raised concerns that this strategy could lead to another bump in inflation.
We unpack what these tariffs could mean for consumers and businesses and talk about how they'll affect the American and global economies.
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Tue, 03 Dec 2024
Giving season is upon us. And some may say today, Giving Tuesday, kicks it off. And the U.S. is certainly on the generous side.
Last year, giving between corporations, foundations, and individuals amounted to more than $500 billion. However, those numbers are on a decline when you compare them to what people gave in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.
But when you look at the long view, giving has increased by billions. Between 1954 and 2016, total giving went from $54 billion to $390 billion.
We discuss where these billions are coming from and how those numbers have changed.
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Tue, 03 Dec 2024
It's a huge development in a war that had seemed to be at a standstill.
In a matter of days, rebel groups in Syria took control of most of Aleppo, Syria's second largest city. It had been in the hands of the autocratic Syrian government since 2016.
The Syrian regime, led by President Bashar al-Assad, now stands on questionable footing for the first time in years.
We discuss what's next for the country.
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Mon, 02 Dec 2024
A bill to protect journalists in their work has long had strong bipartisan support.
The "Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act," or PRESS Act, would shield journalists from government surveillance and from being forced to reveal confidential sources. It was first introduced in June 2021 and was reintroduced in 2023. It's passed the House twice but languished in the Senate.
President-elect Donald Trump has of course had a tumultuous relationship with journalists. Last month, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, writing that, "REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL."
Now, the PRESS Act is running out of time to pass before the end of the lame duck session. We discuss why press advocates say this legislation is urgent, and what comes next for the bill.
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Fri, 29 Nov 2024
Music has the power to evoke a wide range of emotions. It can make us feel melancholy. Or it can fill us with hope.
Music is often tangled up with memories and experiences, too. There's probably a playlist you associate with every stage of life — from the music that helped you through high school, to the song that reminds you of a lost loved one.
Music doesn't just sound good. It can also help us be more empathetic. It's even being used to treat medical conditions like dementia, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease.
For this installment of the Scientific Method, we discuss how music affects the mind, why it can be a powerful tool for treatment, and the ways the songs we love bring us closer together.
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Thu, 28 Nov 2024
It's winter. You throw on your coat and favorite scarf and head outside to put up some last-minute decorations. Stepping out onto your porch, you gaze into the sky just as wispy flakes begin to fall. You smile to yourself because there's no such thing as too much snow for Christmas.
You grab the roll of garland you left propped up on your front porch and begin winding it around the railing. Now, there's one tricky corner of the porch and you need to climb on the outside of the railing to get the garland placed just so. With the garland looped over your shoulder you swing one leg over, then the other.
But your foot slips and, with a yelp, you tumble into a snowbank in your yard. You lay there with your eyes closed. And then you hear a deep and somewhat familiar voice."Nice to see some things never change. Need a hand? Again?"
Whatever comes next is probably happy, heartwarming, and romantic with plenty of holiday spirit. We discuss holiday movies and why we like them so much.
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Wed, 27 Nov 2024
Imagine you're on a date with someone new. So far, you find them funny, intelligent, and easy to talk to.
But 20 minutes in, the conversation turns to politics. It becomes clear that you don't share the same views. Do you stay on the date? Or do you leave?
Nearly 80 percent of Americans would likely make an excuse and find their way home. Only 21 percent of U.S. marriages are between individuals who don't share the same political party, according to the Institute for Family Studies. That's a 10-percentage point decrease from 2016. And of that 21 percent of politically-mixed couples, only 4 percent are relationships between Democrats and Republicans.
We discuss politically-mixed marriages, and the important role politics plays in our romantic relationships.
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Tue, 26 Nov 2024
"Wicked: Part 1" follows the origin story of Elphaba, known in the original "Wizard of Oz" movie as the Wicked Witch of the West. And it follows her friend, Galinda, who eventually becomes the Good Witch.
The movie is based on the Broadway musical which debuted in 2003. Last year, it became the fourth-longest running musical in Broadway history. And that musical comes from a 1995 novel of the same name. The new Wicked movie stars singer-actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the witches Elphaba and Galinda.
The result this past weekend has been gravity-defying. "Wicked" brought in $114 million in North America and another $50 million internationally. That's the best-ever opening for a film adaptation of a Broadway musical.
For this meeting of the 1A Movie Club, we discuss the new "Wicked" film.
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Mon, 25 Nov 2024
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and billionaire businessman Elon Musk are heading the president-elect's new Department of Government Efficiency – a non-governmental agency that they say will reduce waste and streamline the U.S. federal agencies.
But the so–called DOGE is only one tool the president has in mind for slashing the federal workforce. And as more details emerge, the futures of the nation's career civil servants are in the balance.
We discuss what these plans mean, not just for federal workers, but for the country as a whole.
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Fri, 22 Nov 2024
Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz announced Thursday he is withdrawing from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general. And the Senate isn't paving the way for Trump to fill his administration with loyalists.
Reporting indicates New York prosecutors are open to the possibility of pushing Trump's sentencing in his hush money case to 2029 when his second term in the White House will end.
Meanwhile this week marked 1,000 days since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This week the Biden administration made a two major U-turns on Ukraine's military aid policy – allowing missiles to be used in Russia territory and a decision to supply Zelenskyy with landmines. Both decisions that have put pressure on the European Union.
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a new nuclear doctrine that lowered his bar for using nuclear weapons.
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Thu, 21 Nov 2024
Leaders from nearly 200 countries are in Baku, Azerbaijan, for COP29 to talk about the state of global climate change mitigation efforts.
As many nations flesh out their plans to reduce emissions, they're looking to secure new funding at this summit for their solutions — trillions of dollars' worth.
Noticeably absent from the talks in Azerbaijan are some of the world's most influential voices on the subject — from President Joe Biden to the leaders of China, India, Brazil, Britain, Germany and France.
We discuss the role the world's most powerful countries play in shaping our climate future.
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Wed, 20 Nov 2024
After President-elect Donald Trump's win on Nov. 5, those in the LGBTQ community have expressed worry and fear.
The Trevor Project's crisis hotline saw a 700 percent spike in calls following the election. And The Rainbow Youth Project surpassed its monthly average of calls in just six days after Trump's win. Couples are also rushing to get married before Trump takes office.
Trump spent millions on anti-trans ads during his campaign. Like his first term, he's promised to continue rolling back protections for LGBTQ people.
We discuss what Trump will actually be able to do and how advocates are preparing.
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Wed, 20 Nov 2024
This week marks 1,000 days since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A lot has happened in that time.
This morning, the U.S. shuttered its embassy in Kyiv due to specific information about a possible air attack.
Recently, Ukraine fired American-made ballistic missiles into Russia. To use these missiles, Ukraine needed permission from the Biden administration.
We discuss what the closure of the American Embassy in the country's capital mean.
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Tue, 19 Nov 2024
For many people, how you work now might seem unusual to your 2019 self, with hours spent in online meetings. Or maybe it's back to exactly how 2019 was, in an office cubicle. Or maybe, you never had the ability to work remotely during the pandemic.
At companies across the country with employees who still work remotely some or most of the time, executives are slowly falling in line and sending the same message to their workforces: return to the office — sometimes for a few more days per week, sometimes for all five.
Data for office occupancy across major U.S. cities shows that on average, about 50 percent of office seats are occupied. More workers are heading in during the middle of the week, and some cities in the South have more employees working in person compared to the Northeast, Silicon Valley, and Washington D.C.
We take a look at the state of remote work.
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Tue, 19 Nov 2024
U.S. flights to Haiti are grounded for the next 30 days.
Three U.S. airline flights were fired on last Monday as they attempted to land in Haiti. That led to the closure of Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration has suspended all U.S. flights to Haiti for the next 30 days.
Last week's gunfire came from gangs operating out of Haiti's capital city. It's the latest example of the extent of gang control in the country. Haiti has been in a state of chaos for more than three years since its last president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated.
Last Monday also saw a new president sworn into office after the country's interim leader was ousted. Between a new prime minister and the continued presence of foreign security officers in Haiti — we discuss how the country is faring.
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Mon, 18 Nov 2024
Last week, we started talking about the finer points of what Donald Trump's second presidency will look like — key policies he says he will implement, how much he can get done, and how quickly.
Now, with another week of big cabinet picks behind us, and confirmation that Republicans will hold majorities in both the Senate and House, we dive into one goal Trump is already making good on: radically changing the shape of the U.S. government in Washington.
We talk about what his choices mean for the government, and who might stand in the way of this overhaul.
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Sun, 17 Nov 2024
Many of those in the federal government are often depicted as a distant and part of a deep state that seeks to uphold a bureaucracy over the needs of everyday Americans. But the work these people do improves our lives and often goes unnoticed.
The annual Arthur S. Flemming awards honor the work done by those behind the scenes in government
TenaVel Thomas, executive director of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection field academy, is one of this year's winners.
"To be a public servant, there is a certain level of passion that you have to have. Passion for the work, passion for the people, passion for change," she says.
We speak to Thomas and two others being recognized for their outstanding work.
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Fri, 15 Nov 2024
President-elect Donald Trump has had a busy week floating his picks for his upcoming cabinet.
Trump's team is also considering drafting an order that will create a board of retired military officials whose mandate will be to investigate generals it identifies as unfit for leadership.
Trump and President Joe Biden met in the Oval Office after the former's election victory.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump made his pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel this week, tapping former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Huckabee has previously questioned the existence of a Palestinian identity and opposed a two-state solution.
COP29 is set to kick off in Baku, Azerbaijan this week. Very few actual heads of state are expected to attend leading analysts to wonder how much will actually be accomplished.
We cover all this and more during the News Roundup.
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Fri, 15 Nov 2024
Over the years, Donald Trump has not been shy expressing his disdain for our nation's capital.
And in this year's campaign, he made Washington D.C. — which votes overwhelmingly for Democrats — a target in his reelection campaign.
We discuss how much of his rhetoric will translate into action, and what the roughly 679,000 people who call the city home can expect.
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Thu, 14 Nov 2024
President Biden has a little more than 2 months until his term is up. The time between administrations is called a "lame duck period" for a reason.
So what bread crumbs could that Delaware duck look to finish off before exiting the pond?
Well, Biden officials are working on rushing out the last bits of aid to Ukraine before the end of his term. In the meantime, President-elect Donald Trump is building what will be his team for the next four years.
We discuss what the next few months will look like for the new administration and the one in its final days.
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Wed, 13 Nov 2024
Abortion was on the ballot this past election, not just in the country's choice of president, but in the form of state initiatives.
Missouri is one of the seven states where abortion rights measures prevailed. Amendment 3 passed with 51.7 percent of the vote. The measure establishes a right to reproductive freedom in the Missouri constitution. That paves the way for advocates to ask courts to knock down the current near total abortion ban.
Six other states including Arizona, Colorado, New York, Maryland, Montana and Nevada also voted to protect or expand current abortion protections. But the GOP has signaled that it will look to limit abortion access nationally in the coming years given the party's dominance in Washington.
We discuss the future of abortion access in the U.S. could look like.
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Tue, 12 Nov 2024
The election results are in, and Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. Responses to the outcome have been mixed. Some Americans are devastated while some are jubilant.
An October survey by the American Psychological Association found that 77 percent of U.S. adults report the future of the nation as a significant source of stress in their lives. Some 69 percent said the 2024 election in particular was a source of significant stress.
We discuss how we can cope with stress and anxiety related to politics, and how to navigate political divides in our personal lives and as a country.
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Mon, 11 Nov 2024
With Election Day behind us, the past week has consisted of a lot of analysis — of what happened and how.
But we're looking ahead. President-elect Trump has big plans right out of the gate come January: mass deportations, hefty new tariffs on foreign goods, and more he promises to make good on.
We discuss how much of Trump's plans are possible and what headwinds he may face in Washington compared to his first term.
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Mon, 11 Nov 2024
Every presidential term, the chief executive is charged with appointing a cabinet to serve as their most trusted advisors.
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to enter the White House once more, we're learning more about who he plans to appoint to his inner circle.
He's already selected one of the most important positions in his cabinet: the chief of staff. Last week he tapped his campaign manager, Susie Wiles. She'll become the first woman chief of staff.
We discuss how the choice in chief of staff could change the trajectory of Trump's second term.
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Fri, 08 Nov 2024
Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Tuesday. His victory saw big shifts in voting demographics, with one in three people of color voting for the GOP candidate.
The dollar, Bitcoin, the global stock market, and Wall Street all saw monumental jumps in value at the announcement of a Trump presidency.
As congratulations for the president-elect rolled in this week, officials and analysts from around the world are trying to figure out what a Trump presidency means for issues dominating global assets and attention.
And despite being embroiled in conflicts on multiple fronts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed his country's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, this week.|
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