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.

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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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WSJ What’s News - Hardball or a Hail Mary? Trade Tactics Go Down to the Wire

A.M. Edition for Aug 6. With scores of countries facing steep reciprocal tariffs tomorrow, WSJ markets reporter Chelsey Dulaney says governments without a U.S. trade deal are either rushing to Washington for talks or taking on the fight. Plus, special envoy Steve Witkoff meets President Putin just days before the White House's deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties. And, RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for U.S. vaccine research. Azhar Sukri hosts.


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Marketplace All-in-One - Email my heart: USPS falls behind digital communication

Marketplace’s Alice Wilder has been waiting for a love letter from her boyfriend to arrive at her home since March. But it’s not just her — years of financial troubles and political turmoil mean that those still sending letters are experiencing longer delivery times. Today, Wilder explores how email has eaten into USPS’ letter traffic since 2008 and whether a romantic email could ever replace the intimacy of a handwritten letter.

60 Songs That Explain the '90s - “Heavy Metal Drummer”—Wilco

In this week’s episode, Rob uses the blueprint he learned from all of his favorite rock band movies, like 'Dig!' and 'The Great Muppet Caper,' to better understand the self-proclaimed misunderstood band Wilco. He takes us through Jeff Tweedy’s journey, starting with Wilco’s predecessor Uncle Tupelo, which diverged from the marketable grunge movement of its time to make forthright folk music. Unsurprisingly, Tweedy continued not to write music for the masses and the labels, inadvertently making hits like “Heavy Metal Drummer.” Later, Rob is joined by Dylan Tupper Rupert, who explains how she discovered Wilco as a 12-year-old and how a band can make even the most childless of listeners feel like a dad (in the best way).


Host: Rob Harvilla

Guest: Dylan Tupper Rupert

Producers: Olivia Crerie, Chris Sutton, and Justin Sayles

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Headlines From The Times - Epstein Subpoenas, UCLA Funding Freeze, Redistricting Trigger, Tesla Verdict, and Google Antitrust Loss

Congress issues subpoenas for Epstein records, targeting the DOJ and former top officials. UCLA prepares to negotiate with the Trump administration after $336 million in research funding is frozen. Governor Newsom unveils a “trigger” redistricting plan that would redraw California’s congressional maps—only if Texas moves first. Meanwhile, a heatwave threatens to worsen California’s wildfire season, with evacuations already underway. A jury orders Tesla to pay $243 million over a fatal Autopilot crash, its biggest courtroom loss yet. And Google loses an antitrust appeal to Epic Games, in a case that could reshape how millions of users access and pay for apps.

More or Less: Behind the Stats - Are abortion numbers rising in the US?

In June 2022 the United States Supreme Court passed what became known as ‘the Dobbs decision’. In doing so they overturned the long standing constitutional right for women to access abortion in the US. Since then a number of states have banned abortion completely with many others having highly prohibitive rules. You’d expect the numbers of abortions to go down. They haven’t. How is it possible that more people are accessing abortions in a post Dobbs society and why is it not true that states which have total bans have zero abortions per year? Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Production Co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge Studio Manager: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon, Bridget Harney.

The Intelligence from The Economist - Unsteady state: Somalia in disarray

The country had been on the rise: beating back jihadists, strengthening its federal structure and gaining international stature. That has all reversed. In Britain levels of crime have fallen—but the changing nature of criminality has meant a smaller fraction of crooks getting caught. And 80 years on to the day our Archive 1945 project revisits the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.


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The Daily - More Money Was Supposed to Help Poor Kids. So Why Didn’t It?

For many, the logic seemed unassailable: Giving poor families money would measurably improve the lives of their children. And so a few years ago, social scientists set out to test whether that assumption was right.

The results of the experiment have shocked them.

Guest: Jason DeParle, a Times reporter who covers poverty in the United States.

Background reading: 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Andrew Seng for The New York Times

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