Up First from NPR

Republican strategists say President Trump needs a reset in his State of the Union tonight, with new NPR polling showing 60% of Americans think the country is worse off than a year ago.
Mexico is still reeling from cartel violence after a military operation killed the country's biggest drug lord, El Mencho, and triggered a wave of retaliation, raising questions about whether the government can take on the cartels without fueling even more violence.
And an NPR investigation finds the Justice Department removed or withheld dozens of pages from the Epstein files database that include allegations mentioning President Trump, even as the administration says it has released everything.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Rebecca Rosman, Megan Pratz, 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. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Our Supervising Senior Producer is Vince Pearson.(0:00) Introduction
(02:16) Trump State of the Union Strategy
(05:57) Mexico Cartel Violence
(09:43) Epstein Files Naming Trump

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President Trump says he’s raising global tariffs to 15% under a different authority after the Supreme Court blocked his emergency tariff power, forcing Congress to decide how closely they want to own the policy in a midterm election year.
China is weighing what the court ruling actually changes on the ground for exporters and how it could reshape Trump’s leverage ahead of his trip to Beijing in a few weeks.
And a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds most Americans say the state of the union is not strong, as President Trump heads into Tuesday night’s address facing deep divides over the country’s direction.

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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Krishnadev Calamur, Vincent Ni, Dana Farrington, Mohamad ElBardicy, and HJ Mai.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.(0:00) Introduction
(02:13) Trump's New Tariffs
(05:55) China Reacts To Tariff Ruling
(09:37) State Of The Union Poll

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Two of this year’s top contenders for the Academy Awards were filmed using a technology from the 1950s: VistaVision. Filmmakers are reviving this visually stunning yet finicky film format at a time when movie theaters are struggling to get audiences back into theaters. Today on The Sunday Story, NPR’s culture correspondent Mandalit Del Barco tells the story of the changing movie industry through the lens of VistaVision technology.

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The Supreme Court says President Trump cannot use the economic emergency he declared as a rationale for his import tax regime. The U.S. military buildup in the Mideast over the past month gives Trump options for striking Iran. The U.S. and Canada will compete Sunday for the gold medal in men's Olympic ice hockey.

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President Trump says he will make a decision in ten days on whether or not to attack Iran as the U.S. military buildup in the Middle East is now large enough to support a sustained bombing campaign.
President Trump is widening the scope of his new Board of Peace after a Gaza-focused gathering, pitching it as a tool for other global conflicts as world leaders warn it could sideline the United Nations and the Gaza ceasefire remains fragile.
And British police are searching royal properties after the arrest of former Prince Andrew tied to the Epstein files, investigators are looking into whether he passed government documents to the convicted sex offender.

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 Andrew Sussman, Rebekah Metzler, Tina Kraja, Mohamad ElBardicy, and HJ Mai.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our Director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.(0:00) Introduction
(01:57) Military Buildup Around Iran
(05:48) Board Of Peace Meeting
(09:38) Former Prince Andrew Released 

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