Up First from NPR

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

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

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

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

And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin.

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

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

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

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President Trump says he’s raising global tariffs to 15% under a different authority after the Supreme Court blocked his emergency tariff power, forcing Congress to decide how closely they want to own the policy in a midterm election year.
China is weighing what the court ruling actually changes on the ground for exporters and how it could reshape Trump’s leverage ahead of his trip to Beijing in a few weeks.
And a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds most Americans say the state of the union is not strong, as President Trump heads into Tuesday night’s address facing deep divides over the country’s direction.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Krishnadev Calamur, Vincent Ni, Dana Farrington, Mohamad ElBardicy, and HJ Mai.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.(0:00) Introduction
(02:13) Trump's New Tariffs
(05:55) China Reacts To Tariff Ruling
(09:37) State Of The Union Poll

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