In Israel, families whose sons have died in the war in Gaza have the option of having sperm samples retrieved for future offspring. Many have agreed to the procedure. That has raised complicated questions of what can and should be done with this genetic material.
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1A - ‘If You Can Keep It’: ICE’s Latest Minnesota Killing
On Saturday, Border Patrol and ICE agents deployed to Minneapolis wrestled a member of the public to the ground and then shot him multiple times. Alex Pretti, 37, died as a result.
Pretti was a Minneapolis resident and an ICU nurse at a local VA hospital. It’s the second killing by federal agents in the state this month, and the third shooting.
The message from elected officials in Minneapolis and in Minnesota was simple: enough.
We look at how this operation, one the Trump administration says is about immigration enforcement, transformed into something else. Then, we turn to Congress and its lack of oversight of the Trump’s agenda. And we hear from a Democratic member of Congress about what she wants her colleagues to do in this moment.
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Pretti was a Minneapolis resident and an ICU nurse at a local VA hospital. It’s the second killing by federal agents in the state this month, and the third shooting.
The message from elected officials in Minneapolis and in Minnesota was simple: enough.
We look at how this operation, one the Trump administration says is about immigration enforcement, transformed into something else. Then, we turn to Congress and its lack of oversight of the Trump’s agenda. And we hear from a Democratic member of Congress about what she wants her colleagues to do in this moment.
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
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Up First from NPR - Minnesota ICE Shooting Aftermath, Senate DHS Funding Vote, Icy Weather
Protests and a general strike continue in Minneapolis after federal immigration agents fatally shot 37 year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti during a crackdown, the second ICE related killing in the state this month.
Senate Democrats threaten to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless Republicans agree to new limits on immigration enforcement, a standoff that could trigger a partial government shutdown.
And across the country, states are digging out from a major winter storm that left deadly ice and snow, widespread power outages, and thousands of canceled flights.
Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.
Senate Democrats threaten to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless Republicans agree to new limits on immigration enforcement, a standoff that could trigger a partial government shutdown.
And across the country, states are digging out from a major winter storm that left deadly ice and snow, widespread power outages, and thousands of canceled flights.
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 Eric Westervelt, Krishnadev Calamur, Alfredo Carbajal, Mohamad ElBardicy and Adam Bearne.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas, Ava Pukatch and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Simon-Laslo Janssen. And our technical director is David Greenburg.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:55) Minnesota ICE Shooting Aftermath
(05:44) Senate DHS Funding Vote
(09:26) Icy Weather
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Short Wave - Iran offline: How a government can turn off the internet
There’s an ongoing, near-total blackout of the internet in Iran. The shutdown is part of a response by the government to ongoing protests against rising inflation and the value of the nation’s currency plummeting. Since protests began more than two weeks ago, only an estimated 3% of Iranians have stayed online through the satellite internet system Starlink. Doing so is a crime. So, today on the show: Iran offline. We get into how the internet works, how a government can shut it down and how scientists are monitoring the nation’s connectivity from afar.
Check out more of NPR's coverage of Iran:
- Iran Protests Explained
- There's an internet blackout in Iran. How are videos and images getting out?
- Iran blocked the internet amid deadly protests. Some voices are still getting through
Interested in more science behind the headlines? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org – we may tackle it in a future episode!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Tyler Jones. Robert Rodriguez was the audio engineer.
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Check out more of NPR's coverage of Iran:
- Iran Protests Explained
- There's an internet blackout in Iran. How are videos and images getting out?
- Iran blocked the internet amid deadly protests. Some voices are still getting through
Interested in more science behind the headlines? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org – we may tackle it in a future episode!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Tyler Jones. Robert Rodriguez was the audio engineer.
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NPR's Book of the Day - Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan on ‘Remain,’ their supernatural romance novel
Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan are authors known worldwide for their contributions to the genres of romance and horror. But in 2025, they brought these genres together for a collaborative book and movie project titled Remain. In today’s episode, we kick off Book of the Day’s 2026 romance week with a discussion between Sparks, Shyamalan, and NPR’s Leila Fadel. The two join Fadel at NPR’s New York Bureau to talk about their co-authored novel, its inspirations, and the heartfelt, supernatural roots of storytelling itself.
To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
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To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
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The Indicator from Planet Money - How Pakistan is revving up a fight against tax dodgers
Pakistan has had some major economic bumps as of late, including a near default in 2023. At the root: seriously low tax collection. Millions of Pakistan residents opt out of paying income taxes entirely. This is a problem a lot of lower- and middle-income countries face. On today's show, we talk about why there are so many tax dodgers in Pakistan and what the government is trying to do about it.
Related episodes:
Is the US pushing countries towards China?
A brief history of income taxes
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Related episodes:
Is the US pushing countries towards China?
A brief history of income taxes
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Consider This from NPR - How to de-escalate in Minneapolis
The third Minneapolis shooting in three weeks has renewed questions about immigration agents’ role, training, and use of force. Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, says the border patrol and ICE agents operating in Minneapolis aren’t using the kinds of de-escalating tactics that local police have been using for at least a decade.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Henry Larson. It was edited by Ahmad Damen. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org. This episode was produced by Henry Larson. It was edited by Ahmad Damen. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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Up First from NPR - Challenger at 40: Lessons from a tragedy
Forty years ago, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff. Seven astronauts were killed, including teacher-in-space Christa McAuliffe. It was a devastating blow to the U.S. space program and a national tragedy for the country. In the days after the explosion, the search for answers began. Two NPR reporters, Howard Berkes and Daniel Zwerdling, focused their reporting on the engineers who managed Challenger’s booster rockets. On February 20, 1986, Berkes and Zwerdling broke a major story, providing the first details of a last-minute effort by those engineers to stop NASA from launching Challenger.
In this special NPR documentary, Howard Berkes unfolds an investigation spanning forty years, from those desperate efforts in 1986 to delay the launch, to decades of crushing guilt for some of the engineers, and to the lessons learned that are as critical as ever as NASA’s budget and workforce shrink.
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Consider This from NPR - Miles and worlds apart: two NPR reporters on covering the war in Gaza
Even before this latest war in Gaza, NPR’s Jerusalem-based Correspondent Daniel Estrin and Gaza reporter Anas Baba had spent years working together in challenging circumstances. Once war broke out, they had to adapt to a situation that made reporting together even more difficult.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org
This episode was produced by Linah Mohammed.. It was edited by Adam Raney and James Hider. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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Up First from NPR - U.S. Preparing for Winter Storm; Trump’s Use of Military; U.S Consumer Spending
At least half of the U.S. population will be hit by a powerful winter storm this weekend - we'll tell you how Oklahoma, and other states, are preparing. Plus, a look at how President Trump is using the military overseas as well inside the U.S. during his second term. Plus, a look at consumer spending in the U.S. and how sustainable it is at present levels.
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Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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