Up First from NPR

A year ago, New Mexico became the first state to offer universal free childcare. Parents who have successfully enrolled their children in the program say it's changed their lives. But many families have yet to see the other side of a waitlist. On this episode of The Sunday Story, NPR’s Julie Depenbrock reports on how the demand for childcare is outpacing providers’ capacities and the state budget. Can New Mexico catch up and bring the program to the finish line? Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Federal officials say telecommunication outages were to blame for the nationwide ground stop that paralyzed air travel on Friday, but offered few details about what caused the issues. SpaceX conducted a major test of its Starship rocket Friday night. American oil giant ExxonMobil eyes a return to Venezuela as President Trump continues to promise historic oil deals in the South American nation. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Nvidia founder Jensen Huang is out as CEO after allegations involving multiple affairs, leaving longtime CFO Colette Kress to steady the company as it faces questions about leadership, investor confidence and its dominance of the AI chip market. Huang’s close relationship with President Trump is drawing scrutiny in Washington, with lawmakers asking whether his access influenced U.S. chip policy toward China and what administration officials knew about the national security concerns surrounding him. U.S. envoys say European governments could join the next round of Russia-Ukraine talks after meetings with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as negotiators test whether a broader European security framework can help break the deadlock over the war. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Kara Platoni, Rebekah Metzler, Tina Kraja, 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 and Patrick Murray. Our technical director is Margaret Luthar. And our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor. (0:00) Introduction (01:55) Nvidia's Future (05:30) Trump's Ties to Huang (09:13) US Mediates Russia-Ukraine Talks See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed says Americans “temporarily” put their trust and hope in Democrats. But he adds that if his party doesn’t act boldly when it takes control of Congress, it may lose that trust. El-Sayed is the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Senate. The 42-year-old progressive from Michigan is now calling for new Senate leadership and urging President Trump to meet and discuss how they can “figure out what we can work on and get done.” El-Sayed, a former Detroit public health official, even floated the idea of naming major healthcare legislation after Trump. “Put his name on it,” El-Sayed said. “He'll probably pass it. I'm not above doing that. I don't care what it's called.” In this episode from NPR’s Newsmakers, El-Sayed sat down with NPR host Leila Fadel to talk about a divisive campaign season, the future of the Democratic Party and how Congress should legislate during the final two years of Trump’s term in the White House. Find more episodes of Newsmakers on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get podcasts. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Democrat Scott Colom won Mississippi’s Senate race by fewer than 5,000 votes, becoming the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction and ending a more than 40-year stretch without a Democrat in the seat. The White House is warning Democrats that their planned investigations could cross into “blatant criminality,” previewing a legal and political fight over congressional oversight when Democrats take control next year. Russia and Ukraine agreed to a major prisoner exchange after two days of U.S.-mediated talks, as American envoys meet Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to explore whether a broader European security agreement could help end the war. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Tina Kraja, Rebekah Metzler, Miguel Macias, 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 and Patrick Murray. Our technical director is Margaret Luthar. And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens. (0:00) Introduction (01:57) Colom Wins Mississippi (05:30) Trump Warns Incoming Democrats (09:20) Russia-Ukraine Talks See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy