Up First from NPR

What happens to famous works of art when they are stolen from museums and private art collections? In the Netherlands, museums and collectors reach out to Arthur Brand, a self-styled art detective who works to track down art that has gone missing and fallen into the criminal underworld.  

This week on The Sunday Story, when a famous Van Gogh painting is stolen from a museum, Brand teams up with an unlikely partner – art thief Octave Durham. Together, the pair work to rescue a masterpiece from the underground market and return it to its museum home.


See...

Three days after twin earthquakes hit Venezuela, rescue teams race against time, President Trump's interest in overhauling elections is not shared by all of his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill, and New Mexico tries to provide free childcare for all residents.

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Rescuers in Venezuela are racing to reach thousands still missing after two powerful earthquakes struck seconds apart, with at least 235 people confirmed dead, hundreds still trapped, and U.S. search teams now heading to help.
The Supreme Court handed President Trump two big immigration wins, clearing the way for his administration to strip legal status from hundreds of thousands of immigrants and making it harder for migrants to claim asylum at the border.
And President Trump is trying to win back farmers hurt by his own tariffs and the Iran war, dangling 11 billion dollars in new aid even...

Venezuela got hit by two of the most powerful earthquakes in its history, striking seconds apart near the capital and collapsing buildings as the government braces for a high death toll and the U.S. rushes in aid.
President Trump blew up a popular bipartisan housing bill both parties wanted, refusing to sign it until the Senate passes his own elections bill that doesn't have the votes, it's the latest example of his demand for loyalty from Republicans and allies alike.
And one of the Army's top generals, Chris Donahue, is set to retire in a move that...

President Trump is having lunch on Capitol Hill today with Senate Republicans, after four GOP senators broke with him to advance a resolution pushing to end the war with Iran and Trump's clashes with Majority Leader John Thune over the filibuster, voter ID, and the president's handling of the war with Iran.
Congress passed the largest housing bill in decades last night with strong bipartisan support, aiming to make homeownership more attainable by cracking down on corporate investors buying single-family homes.
And in New York, democratic socialist candidates scored big wins in congressional primaries, including upsets backed by M...

The U.S. has lifted oil sanctions on Iran for the first time in decades, letting Tehran sell its oil openly at higher prices meant to push Iran to comply on its nuclear program, even as the two sides are already split over whether Iran agreed to let inspectors back in.
President Trump heads to Pennsylvania today to talk up the economy and his promise that gas and grocery prices will fall now that the war is ending, but his approval is at record lows with even some Republicans unhappy over his handling of the economy.
And a...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has resigned after months of pressure and a collapse of support within his own party, with popular Manchester mayor Andy Burnham his likely successor and on track to become Britain's seventh prime minister in just ten years. 
The first round of U.S.-Iran talks wrapped in Switzerland with mediators announcing encouraging progress and a 60-day roadmap toward a final deal, though Iran says the real test remains whether the ceasefire holds in Lebanon.
And President Trump is struggling to sell the Iran deal to his own party, his MAGA base is angry h...

Who are the workers behind the global scam industry? 

In Cambodia, more than 200,000 scam workers have been released from fortified compounds, where many of them had been trafficked, held against their will, and forced to work for little pay. The Cambodian government’s recent crackdown has enabled reporters to get a closer look at an industry responsible for defrauding Americans of at least 20 billion dollars in 2025.

But how did these workers end up in Cambodia, and what was the promise that drew them there? In this two-part series for The Sunday Story, investigative reporter Shibani Mahtani div...

PART 2: With the Cambodian government’s ongoing crackdown on the scam industry, tens of thousands of former scammers are stranded on the streets of Phnom Penh. Are they being treated as criminals or as victims themselves of a global industry designed to extract their labor?

In part 2 of our series on The Sunday Story, investigative reporter Shibani Mahtani continues the story of one Ugandan scam worker as he tries to make his way home.

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Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah renew their ceasefire while Iran and the U.S. try to push ahead with negotiating a broader deal. We'll also look at how the preliminary agreement is being viewed domestically, and at President Trump's G7 appearance. Plus, we'll have the latest on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where aid is starting to arrive.

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The deal to end the war with Iran is already looking shaky, with Vice President Vance delaying his trip to Switzerland to start negotiations and Israel still bombing Lebanon even though the deal says that has to stop.
Vance is supposed to lead difficult negotiations with Iran, but he has limited diplomatic experience with a 60 days goal of going through a long list of tough issues still left to settle.
And the Obama Presidential Center opens to the public in Chicago today, where Obama used the dedication to tell people not to miss the past, but to remember w...

President Trump and Iran’s president have signed an initial agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Israel was left out of the negotiations and Trump is openly criticizing its continued attacks in Lebanon.
President Trump is once again putting Senate Republicans in a tough spot, he's holding back his pick for Director of National Intelligence until his demands are met, leaving his temporary pick Bill Pulte to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies, with Trump threatening to block a key spy tool until he gets his way.
And a new NPR/PBS News...

The U.S. and Iran have a deal to end the war but the text remains secret with Israel denied a look and Congress asking to see it, as big questions linger over billions in frozen Iranian funds and the fighting in Lebanon. 
President Trump wraps up the G7 summit in France today, saying Iran is now in the rearview mirror as he criticizes Israel over Lebanon and turns his attention to ending the war in Ukraine.
And primary runoffs in Georgia delivered a split for President Trump, whose backing helped Mike Collins win the Republican Senate nomination t...

The U.S.-Iran deal is set to be signed Friday, but Israel finds itself completely sidelined from the agreement and future talks, with none of its core goals on Iran's nuclear program met.
President Trump is holding a flurry of meetings on the first full day of the G7 summit in France, huddling with Gulf leaders over the Iran deal and with G7 leaders on how to ramp up pressure on Russia over the war in Ukraine. 
And it's primary day again, with Georgia's Republican Senate runoff exposing a rift in the party as President Trump and t...

President Trump says a deal has been reached to end the war with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but the agreement is set to be signed Friday in Switzerland and leaves out Israel, whose opposition is calling it one of the country's worst failures.
Just hours after announcing the deal, President Trump hosted a UFC fight on the White House lawn on his 80th birthday for the nation's 250th.
And right after the fight, Trump headed to the G7 summit in the French Alps, where he is expected to arrive in triumph and lean on the...

In the summer of 2020, sixteen-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to be part of the racial justice movement. He arrived in Seattle during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, known as CHOP. Less than a week later, he was shot and killed there. The case remains unsolved.

Today on The Sunday Story, we bring you the first episode of a new series from NPR’s Embedded podcast that investigates Mays’ death.

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The stalemate in Iran continues to vex the president, the merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery gets an all-clear from Washington, and the Knicks and Spurs fight for the NBA title.

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President Trump canceled planned strikes on Iran citing progress in negotiations and says a deal that reopens the Strait of Hormuz could be signed within days, capping a week of whiplash that saw the U.S. bomb Iran three nights in a row and Trump threaten to seize an Iranian island.
The UFC holds seven fights on the White House lawn Sunday for America's 250th birthday, one of a growing list of side projects taking up President Trump's time as a watchdog group sues over his stake in UFC's parent company.
President Trump named federal prosecutor Jay Clayton...

The U.S. unleashed a second straight night of strikes on Iran with President Trump saying Iran is taking too long to negotiate, as Iran fires back at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan and Trump reveals U.S. efforts to help oil tankers slip past the Iranian blockade. 
Inflation jumped to its highest level in more than three years last month, largely driven by soaring gas prices since the war with Iran began, leaving many families like Emily Inlow in Kentucky struggling as wages fail to keep pace with rising costs.
And the 2026 World Cup k...

Iran launched attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan overnight after the U.S. struck Iranian targets in retaliation for an Iranian attack that downed a U.S. helicopter, raising fears of an escalation spiral that could derail any deal.
Primary results are in from Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina, with Maine's high-stakes Senate matchup now set between Democrat Graham Platner and Republican Susan Collins, and Trump's endorsed candidate for South Carolina governor headed to a runoff.
And Congress approved 70 billion dollars in immigration enforcement funding that will carry ICE and Border Patrol through the rest of...

Israel and Iran both pulled back after trading missile fire at the urging of President Trump, but each side is setting conditions that could quickly reignite the fighting and derail U.S. efforts towards a deal with Iran.
It's primary day in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina, with Maine Democrats picking a candidate to challenge longtime Senator Susan Collins in a race critical to control of the Senate and South Carolina offering another test of President Trump's endorsement power.
And California is still counting votes almost a week after election day, drawing fraud claims without evidence...

Israel and Iran trade direct strikes following an Israeli attack on Beirut's southern suburbs that defied a U.S. request to stand down, further complicating U.S. efforts to reach a deal with Iran.
President Trump abruptly walked out of an interview on Meet the Press after being pressed on his anti-weaponization fund and his repeated false claims that the 2020 election and last week's California primaries were rigged. 
And the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading at an unprecedented pace, with Africa's CDC warning it could rival the worst outbreak on record.

Wa...

The World Cup is back in North America for the first time in over 30 years. It’s the most popular sporting event on the globe and with 16 additional teams competing this year, it will be the biggest World Cup to date. But in Trump’s America, visa issues and geopolitical tensions are creating additional challenges for the teams and the fans. 
Today on The Sunday Story, we bring two of NPR’s biggest soccer nerds onto the show to talk about the competition, the entertainment, and the cultural significance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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Decisions are coming in several major Supreme Court cases, from birthright citizenship and immigration to the president's power to fire federal officials. Posts about prediction markets are latest way for influencers to sow doubt about election results in California. Mexican host city of Guadalajara wrestles with welcoming tens of thousands of tourists to the World Cup, when violence permeates daily life.

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Senate Republicans worked through the night to pass President Trump's $72 billion immigration enforcement bill, but voted not to block the president’s anti-weaponization fund.
A handful of Republicans are breaking with President Trump over the war in Iran, his anti-weaponization fund, and his pick to lead national intelligence, raising the question of whether his grip on the party is starting to slip after a decade of dominance.
And former national security adviser turned Trump critic John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of mishandling classified information, a case that prosecutors and intelligence officials say ha...

President Trump says he'll nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to permanently lead the Department of Justice, even as his now-scrapped anti-weaponization fund continues to complicate a major immigration enforcement bill in Congress.
President Trump confirms he cursed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called him crazy in a heated call that halted planned strikes on Beirut, exposing growing tension between the two longtime allies over the direction of the war.
And Russia's political and business elite have gathered in St. Petersburg for President Putin's showcase economic forum, which Ukrainian drones struck just hours before it began.<...

Republican voters in Iowa rejected President Trump's pick for governor in last night's primary, a rare moment of pushback as voters in six states set up key November matchups including House races that could decide control of Congress.
The Justice Department is scrapping President Trump's nearly $1.8 billion dollar anti-weaponization fund after sustained bipartisan backlash, though the DOJ says part of the IRS settlement shielding Trump and his family from past tax investigations still stands.
And President Trump has named Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence despite his complete lack of intelligence...

The Justice Department says it will abide by a court order temporarily blocking President Trump's anti-weaponization fund, even as Senate Republicans push the White House to abandon the nearly two billion dollar program entirely amid bipartisan backlash.
The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is barely holding as Israel keeps expanding its war in Lebanon, with Gulf states watching nervously as President Trump's diplomatic push faces its biggest test yet.
And it's primary day in six states including California, where Democrats hope new congressional maps will help them flip up to five Republican-held House seats and the...

Anti-establishment candidate Graham Platner seemingly came out of nowhere to become the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Senate seat in Maine. But his campaign has been dogged by controversies.

There were the old, deleted Reddit posts in which he made racist comments and blamed sexual assault on victims. There was a now-covered tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol. And most recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage.

Taken together, they raise a big question. Does he have too much baggage to carry on? Or can hi...

Israeli forces captured a 900-year-old castle in southern Lebanon in their deepest incursion into the country in 26 years, complicating U.S. efforts to reach a deal with Iran even as the two sides traded more strikes over the weekend.
Congress returns from its Memorial Day break facing a stalled immigration funding bill that has become tangled up with President Trump’s push for an anti-weaponization fund and possible payments to January 6 defendants.
And the Trump administration’s anti-weaponization fund is facing new legal hurdles after one judge temporarily blocked it and another judge raised questions about the settlement that...

Scientists say that sitting is the new smoking. The average American adult now sits for 9-10 hours per day. What’s the least amount of movement someone can do to offset the harms of our modern sedentary lifestyle? Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour podcast, has spent the last several years trying to answer that question. After collaborating with Columbia University Medical Center on a major study, she brings Ayesha the answer.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth talks Pacific security, the government reviews E. Jean Carroll's civil cases against President Trump, Costco and Walmart are selling more gasoline.

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Vice President Vance says the U.S. is very close to a deal with Iran to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Lebanon remains the main hurdle as Israel bombed Beirut again and is also expanding its control over Gaza. 
The Justice Department is investigating writer E. Jean Carroll and the major Democratic donor who helped pay some of her legal bills against President Trump, part of a broader pattern of probes into the president’s perceived political adversaries.
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is asserting full control over the network, forcing out the lon...

Even as peace talks continue, the U.S. struck Iran near the Strait of Hormuz and Iran retaliated against a U.S. base in Kuwait, while Israel expanded its assault in Lebanon by issuing evacuation orders for the southern city, Tyre.
Texas now has one of the most competitive Senate races in the country after Republicans nominated Ken Paxton, giving Democrats an opportunity to flip a seat in the midterms as they map out their path to controlling the Senate.
And the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is worsening with more than a thousand suspected cases and over 200...

Ken Paxton defeated four-term Senator John Cornyn in the Texas Republican primary by nearly two to one, setting up what could be the most competitive Senate race in the state in decades as Democrats see an opening.
South Carolina Republicans blocked President Trump's push to redraw the state's congressional map, with some in the party warning the nationwide redistricting effort is energizing Democrats and independents ahead of the midterms.
And President Trump has declared progress on an Iran deal at least six times and still no deal, now as negotiations continue Trump is pushing for more Gulf countries...

The U.S. launched fresh strikes on Iran, targeting missile sites and boats laying mines, even as Secretary of State Marco Rubio says negotiations to end the war could still take a few more days, with Israel warning the emerging deal is a bad one as it escalates attacks in Lebanon.
Russia carried out one of its largest attacks on Ukraine, hitting every district in Kyiv over the weekend while Ukraine continues long-range drone strikes on Russian oil facilities and warns it desperately needs more air defense systems.
Texas Republicans are voting today in the most expensive primary...

President Trump says a deal with Iran is “largely negotiated” after weekend talks with Gulf leaders and Israel. The preliminary agreement is expected to gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz while leaving the nuclear program for a later round of talks. Some Republican senators are already calling it a disaster.
Gulf countries are pressing hard for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with Iran as a preliminary 60-day ceasefire extension is discussed, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other regional players react to the latest developments.
In eastern Congo, a rare strain of Ebola has killed more than...

For people working to address climate change in the U.S., the last year has been a hard one. The Trump administration has been rolling back rules and regulations aimed at reducing planet-warming pollution. But some cities and states are moving forward on climate action. On today’s episode of The Sunday Story, NPR’s Julia Simon brings us local solutions to this global problem. 

To hear and read more reporting from NPR’s Climate Solutions week, visit npr.org/climateweek.

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Washington ratcheted up the pressure on Havana this week. A federal judge in Tennessee dismissed criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Electricity costs are rising as the U.S. enters warmer weather, likely meaning higher utility bills for consumers.

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Republicans left for recess without passing President Trump’s top immigration enforcement package after he pushed for funding for his White House ballroom and a controversial anti-weaponization fund, raising new questions about growing GOP pushback against the president.
The Democratic National Committee has released its long-delayed 2024 election autopsy report, a nearly 200-page document filled with disclaimers that much of the data could not be verified and containing almost no serious discussion of the economy.
President Trump hinted at military action against Cuba after the U.S. indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro, drawing direct comparisons to the events th...