1A - Why Accurate Labor Statistics Matter For The US Economy

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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Consider This from NPR - How some online networks target and radicalize kids

The FBI is investigating at least 250 people who may be tied to online networks that target children.

These networks encourage kids to hurt themselves, other minors or even animals. In some countries, they have been tied to mass casualty and terrorism plots.

NPR's domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef has spoken with a family that experienced this firsthand.

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State of the World from NPR - The Story Behind a Famous Photo of a Starving Child in Gaza

A photo of an emaciated child in Gaza has gone viral, with many in Israel claiming it depicts false information. Our producer in Gaza meets the child and his family, we hear about how he is doing now and about the food insecurity many in Gaza are facing.

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Up First from NPR - Fort Stewart Shooting, Tariff Deadline, Trump And Putin Meeting Prospects

Five soldiers were shot and injured by one of their co-workers at Fort Stewart Army base in Georgia, higher import tariffs taking effect today are beginning to weigh on the US economy, and President Trump says prospects look good for a meeting on ending the war in Ukraine with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Want more comprehensive 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 Susanna Capelouto, Rafael Nam, Krishnadev Calamur, Janaya Williams and Ally Schweitzer. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.


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The Indicator from Planet Money - Are Trump’s tariffs legal?

President Trump's new round of tariffs took effect today. It will bring in billions of dollars to the government, in part paid for by U.S. importers who can decide whether to pass that cost onto American families. But are these tariffs legal?

Today on the show, the arguments for and against the president's tariffs and what happens to that tariff revenue if Trump loses.

Related episodes:
Trump's tariff role model
Dealmaker Don v. Tariff Man Trump

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Fact-checking by
Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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NPR's Book of the Day - ‘The Feather Detective’ is a biography of Roxie Layboune, forensic ornithologist

In 1960, a commercial flight was struck by a flock of birds, resulting in a deadly crash. Evidence was sent to the Smithsonian, where a woman named Roxie Laybourne successfully identified the species of bird involved. That case began her career as the first forensic ornithologist – and Laybourne’s work is the subject of Chris Sweeney’s new book, The Feather Detective. In today’s episode, Sweeney joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about Laybourne’s unique expertise, her influence on aviation safety, and the sexism she faced as a female scientist.


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1A - Ask A Crisis Communications Specialist

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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State of the World from NPR - Nigeria’s Chronic Electricity Problems

In Africa’s most populous country more than a third of residents have no access to electricity. Even those connected to the nation’s crumbling power grid cannot rely on it. And the situation isn’t improving. We go to Nigeria to see how people cope with the lack of access to power.

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Consider This from NPR - Hurricane Katrina helped change New Orleans’ public defender system

In 2006, Ari Shapiro reported on how Hurricane Katrina made an already broken public defender system in New Orleans worse. The court system collapsed in the aftermath of the storm.

Katrina caused horrific destruction in New Orleans. It threw incarcerated people into a sort of purgatory - some were lost in prisons for more than a year.

But the storm also cleared the way for changes that the city's public defender system had needed for decades.

Two decades later, Shapiro returns to New Orleans and finds a system vastly improved.

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Up First from NPR - White House Envoy In Moscow, MAGA Split On Gaza, Redefining The Attorney General Role

White House envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin, days before President Trump's deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine or face sanctions. Some of the President's core supporters are expressing disagreement with President Trump on issues from Gaza to Jeffrey Epstein, and the Justice Department has reportedly set up a grand jury investigation into the Obama administration's handling of the 2016 Presidential election.

Want more comprehensive 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 Ryland Barton, Roberta Rampton, Megan Pratz, Janaya Williams and Ally Schweitzer. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.


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