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Democrats swept on election night this week, winning several key gubernatorial races, state legislature positions, and the New York City mayoral election. As the government shutdown continues, airports are struggling to run at maximum capacity. The Federal Aviation Administration is looking to cut 10 percent of flights at high traffic airports as they struggle with delays and staffing shortages. The Supreme Court began hearing arguments over whether or not Donald Trump’s tariffs on America’s trading partners are legal. Meanwhile, a top Israeli military lawyer was incarcerated this week after she leaked footage of Israeli soldiers allegedly sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner. Now, Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are working to combat what he calls the “most severe public relations attack that the state of Israel has experienced.” U.S. officials are mulling possible regime change in Venezuela. The federal government’s operations in and around Caribbean and South American waters have intensified in recent weeks. Donald Trump is also threatening to take action in Nigeria if the country’s government doesn’t take action to protect Christians within its borders. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

It’s open enrollment season. And for the 20 million Americans who buy their own health insurance, prices are through the roof. Rates are up an average of 30 percent for a typical plan in the 30 states where the federal government manages markets. In states that run their own markets, rates are up an average of 17 percent. That’s according to an analysis from the health policy research group KFF. Meanwhile, the longest government shutdown continues in Washington. Lawmakers still can’t agree over whether to extend subsidies that would make health insurance more affordable. Without those subsidies, experts estimate that more than 4 million people could lose access to insurance. How did health insurance get so expensive in the first place? And who stands to benefit from higher costs? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, “Nobody’s Girl,” is again shining a light on justice for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The Department of Justice says Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. Over the summer, she was moved to a minimum security prison in Texas after meeting privately with Trump administration officials. In the book, Giuffre recounts how she was lured into Epstein’s world after meeting Maxwell at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago spa at the age of 16. She was then subjected to years of abuse where she was sex trafficked, including to England’s former Prince Andrew, whose title was revoked last week in part due to these allegations. Giuffre took her own life earlier this year. Even before her memoir was released posthumously, she was one of Epstein’s most outspoken accusers. We sit down with Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law about her story and their call for justice. We also speak with Marijke Chartouni, another Epstein survivor who says she was recruited in 2000 and was sexually assaulted by Epstein. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Tariffs are getting their day in court. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases about the legality of President Donald Trump’s favorite policy tool. Shortly after he took office, Trump started signing executive orders imposing tariffs on America’s trading partners. He declared April 2 “Liberation Day,” and enacted a broad package of import duties from Canada to China and way beyond, upending U.S. economic policy and reshaping global trade. He did it all without input from Congress. And that might, or might not, have violated presidential power under the Constitution. So, are the Trump administration’s tariffs legal? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Farmers are being hit hard by President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The cost of fertilizer and machinery is up, while the market for certain crops is nearly gone. But last week’s trade deal with China could provide relief. And the administration says it’s readying a $12 billion farm aid package to pay out post-shutdown. What kind of impact have Trump’s economic policies had on the American farmer? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

As it’s filled election security roles at the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, the Trump administration has elevated people who are known election deniers — activists who’ve pushed unproven claims about fraud in the 2020 election or in American election systems more generally. And the administration has asked states to turn over voter roll data that includes private information. It’s even sued eight of them for some of that data in an unprecedented push for federal control of voter information. How are the systems and processes behind the 2026 midterm faring in 2025? Especially as the federal government pushes to have more control over what’s traditionally been the jurisdiction of state and local officials? We hear one of those officials as well as a panel of experts. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The government shutdown has gone on for longer than one month. Now, Republicans are considering ending the Senate filibuster to reopen the government. The Supreme Court requested more information as it heard arguments about whether President Donald Trump is within his rights to deploy the National Guard to Chicago. Two prosecutors who went after January 6 rioters were put on leave this week for filing a sentencing memo in the case of a man who showed up armed outside of the Obama residence. Amidst a brutal trade dispute, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sat down for a face-to-face meeting in South Korea. Despite recent Israeli strikes killing more than 100 people in Gaza, the Trump Administration says the ceasefire with Hamas is still on. Following a snub by President Trump and a successful nuclear weapons test, intelligence officials say Russian President Vladimir Putin is showing no signs of seeking a compromise to end the war Ukraine. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Bruce Springsteen is an American music legend. Songs like “Born to Run” and “Born in the USA” have echoed through ballparks, dive bars, TV shows, and politics for decades. That’s why his new biopic, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” is unique. Instead of reckoning with The Boss’ glittering legacy, it focuses on a darker period of his career starting in 1981. Played by Jeremy Allen White, Springsteen finishes touring his album “The River,” rents a house in New Jersey by himself, and turns his focus inward to grapple with his past and write a new album, “Nebraska.” The 1A Movie Club convenes to talk about the film. What has audience reception been to the movie? And what did "The Boss" have to say? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

More than 400 bills challenging longstanding public health practices, including vaccines and milk safety, are making their way through statehouses across the country. According to an Associated Press investigation that tracked said legislation, these bills would do everything from ban certain types of immunizations to making the sale and consumption of unpasteurized milk more accessible. Anti-vaccine bills are by far the most common. At least 350 of the 420 bills were related to vaccines. Some 11 states have already adopted more than two dozen laws restricting vaccine access. Who are the highly organized groups behind this wave of anti-science legislation? And how do these bills fit into the broader dismantling of the country’s public health system? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Hurricane Melissa is on track to make a direct hit on Jamaica today, with rains and winds already lashing the island. Melissa is a category five storm, with winds clocked at up to 175 miles per hour. It’s the strongest storm on the planet this year and one of the most devastating on record. Authorities in Jamaica and Cuba have issued evacuation orders for tens of thousands of people. For years, scientists have been telling us that climate change will make hurricanes more dangerous. What does this mean for the people of Jamaica? And what does a climate-change fueled future of hurricanes look like? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

A Hitler-praising group chat. A government official with a self-proclaimed “Nazi-streak.” A swastika flag in a sitting U.S. representative’s office. Those are a few of the racist, antisemitic forms of speech and expression tied to notable Republicans in recent weeks. Vice President JD Vance downplayed outrage over some of these incidents as “pearl clutching.” Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed a memo designating groups like “Antifa” and Black Lives Matter as terrorist organizations. It’s part of the administration’s larger effort to crack down on what it calls a widespread left-wing conspiracy to carry out acts of political violence. In this installment of “If You Can Keep It,” our weekly series on the state of our democracy, we talk about the Trump administration and the fine lines between hate speech, violence, and political dissent. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ atplus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ atplus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ atplus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ atplus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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? Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

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.” Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ atplus.npr.org/the1a. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy