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1A - ICYMI: Trump’s Use Of Legal Action Against The Media

President Donald Trump is suing the publisher and owner of the Wall Street Journal and seeking damages of $10 billion for defamation.

Last week, the paper published an article describing a letter Trump sent to disgraced, self-styled financier Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. That letter reportedly included a lewd drawing. The president says — without evidence — that he didn't write the letter. The Journal's publisher says they will defend against the lawsuit.

In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote the lawsuit was filed "not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media."

We discuss the president's legal action — and the threat of it — against the media.

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1A - Sharks On The Big Screen And In The Big Blue Sea

Duunnn dunnn... duuuunnnn duun.

Odds are you probably know what that line references without having to click the link. And there's a good reason for that.

Sharks have been around for nearly 450 million years – a lot longer than humans. And in the relatively short time we've shared the planet with them, they've become a part of some of our most treasured pop culture moments. But that also means they've fallen victim to pop culture narratives.

Since the release of "Jaws" in 1975, sharks – especially great white sharks – have endured a reputation as aggressive and violent. But however we're thinking about them on land, they're struggling to survive at sea.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, nearly a third of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction – with overfishing and harmful fishing practices at the top of the list of hazards.

We get into all things sharks, from the so-called "Jaws-effect," to all the things we get wrong about this fascinating fish.

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Up First from NPR - Troops In Central Gaza, Military Detention Centers, Harvard Hearing

Israel has expanded its military ground operation into central Gaza, the US Homeland Security Department is preparing to use military bases in New Jersey and Indiana for immigration detention, and attorneys for Harvard University are in federal court over the administration's attempt to cut billions of dollars in research funding and contracts.

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 Hannah Bloch, Anna Yukhananov, Steve Drummond, Janaya Williams and Alice Woelfle. 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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Short Wave - Will Federal Budget Cuts Affect Space Science?

Earlier this year, the White House proposed a nearly 24% cut to NASA's 2026 fiscal year budget — the largest in the agency's history. The trims are largely aimed at the NASA's fundamental science research and would halt science that has already been partially paid for, like the Mars sample return and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Many scientists and policy experts are also worried that the reduced funding would cause a scientific brain drain. But within the last month, Congress has started to discuss appropriations packages that may not severely contract the budget after all. So, in this episode, Regina reports on the important hypotheticals: What programs might be affected? Are these cuts likely to happen? If so, when?

Want to hear more stories about space and policy? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org.

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NPR's Book of the Day - In her new memoir, Hala Alyan searches for home amid a family history of exile

Palestinian American writer Hala Alyan has a personal history of exile. Over the years, the author and her relatives have been displaced from their homes in Gaza, Kuwait, and Lebanon – and she says it's difficult to fully separate herself from these places. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about her new memoir I'll Tell You When I'm Home, which contends with themes including exile, infertility, surrogacy, and motherhood.

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Consider This from NPR - Is Emil Bove the face of a new MAGA judiciary?

President Trump helped reshape the federal courts during his first term in office. And he relied heavily on the Federalist Society in that effort, which helped him zero in on judges with a conservative, originalist interpretation of the constitution.

Now the nominations machinery is restarting, and Trump's most controversial judicial nominee is only one step away from the federal bench.

His name is Emil Bove.

During his first term, Trump appointed scores of originalists to the federal bench– a victory for the conservative legal movement.

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1A - ‘If You Can Keep It’: The Layoffs At The Departments Of State And Education

This month, two Supreme Court decisions allowed the Trump administration to move forward with significant federal layoffs, including many at the Departments of Education and State.

The State Department laid off senior intelligence analysts specializing in Russia and Ukraine, right as the U.S. ramps up its maneuvering to encourage Vladimir Putin to agree to a peace deal.

And at the Department of Education, the Federal Student Aid office, responsible for administering student loans and Pell Grants, lost hundreds of people.

We break down both situations.

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NPR's Book of the Day - Aisling Rawle’s ‘The Compound’ follows characters on a semi-dystopian reality TV show

Aisling Rawle's The Compound explores reality television as a kind of dystopia. In the novel, a group of men and women live on a compound in the middle of a desert, where they participate in house competitions and vie for personal awards. In today's episode, Rawle joins NPR's Pien Huang for a conversation that touches on binge-watching Love Island as research, how the author came up with The Compound's rules and rewards, and how her characters perceive their own desirability.

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