Up First from NPR

Congress is out on recess as a partial shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security is underway after talks collapsed over immigration enforcement reforms.
Officials from the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine prepare for new peace talks in Geneva as Moscow presses territorial demands and Kyiv insists on security guarantees.
And at the Winter Olympics in Italy, American speed skater Jordan Stolz is making history while other superstar athletes struggle with the intense pressure of competing on the world’s biggest stage.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Jason Breslow, Kate Bartlett, Tina Kraya, Eric Whitney, Mohamad ElBardicy and Adam Bearne.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. And our technical director is Simon-Laslo Janssen.(0:00) Introduction
(01:57) DHS Shutdown
(05:38) Ukraine Peace Talks
(09:26) Olympics Stars Stumble

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How do you find the strength to face the unimaginable? In September of 2024, Gisèle Pelicot took the stand in an unprecedented mass rape trial in France. On trial was her former husband, along with 50 other men. Police had found images and videos of her husband and dozens of men raping Pelicot while she was drugged and unconscious. In this episode of The Sunday Story, Gisèle Pelicot sits down with NPR’s Michel Martin to talk about the pain of discovering what had happened to her, the harm it did to her family, and her decision to reject shame and speak up on behalf of victims of sexual assault.

Pelicot’s new memoir, “A Hymn to Life,” will be published on February 17th.

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We get the latest from the Munich Security Conference, where U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech before European leaders. We also look at the reasons behind why the FDA rejected Moderna's new flu vaccine and how that decision could shape future clinical trials. Plus, we'll look at the what happened with U.S Olympic figure skater Illia Malinin, dubbed the "Quad God," on the ice yesterday. Tipped to win the gold, Malinin didn't end up even medaling. 

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Federal immigration agents are pulling back from Minnesota after months of aggressive immigration enforcement that led to thousands of arrests, weeks of protests, and the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens.

Congress is racing to fund the Department of Homeland Security before a shutdown, with Democrats demanding changes to immigration enforcement and negotiations still stalled.

And the Environmental Protection Agency is scrapping the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Eric Westervelt, Jason Breslow, Kara Platoni, 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 Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.(0:00) Introduction
(01:55) ICE Leaving Minnesota
(05:48) DHS Funding Deadline 
(09:31) EPA Vehicle Emissions

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Attorney General Pam Bondi clashed with lawmakers during a Capitol Hill hearing dominated by questions about the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
President Trump’s tariff agenda faces a rare Republican pushback in Congress, even as the White House argues the policy is bringing money into the United States.
And a new jobs report shows stronger hiring to start the year, but revised data suggests the labor market was far weaker in 2025 than previously believed.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Anna Yukhananov, Rebekah Metzler, Rafael Nam, 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 deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.(0:00) Introduction
(02:07) Bondi's Heated Hearing
(06:04) Pushback On Trump's Tariffs
(09:54) Revised 2025 Jobs Report

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