Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner dropped out of the race for Maine Sen. Susan Collins’ seat in Congress, after sexual assault allegations made by a former partner surfaced. Democrats are searching for a replacement.Calls for answers on Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s whereabouts and wellbeing are growing. The former Senate majority leader has not been seen in three weeks, leading to speculation about his health.And the United States was knocked out of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup this week following a 4-1 defeat to Belgium.And, in global news, President Donald Trump said the MOU between the U.S. and Iran is over, calling Iranian leaders “scum.”At the annual NATO summit, Danish leaders underlined their commitment to Greenland after Trump claimed the territory would be better suited to American control.Brexit champion Nigel Farage abruptly resigned from his position in Parliament this week. He will run for office again. Critics say the situation is a ploy to avoid a formal inquiry over his finances.We cover the most important stories from around the world in the News Roundup.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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

Humans like to know what’s coming next. How to plan for the future. And what the consequences of our actions might be.But the modern world is only becoming less certain — war abroad and political conflict at home, technological breakthroughs once only seen in science fiction, a volatile economy and labor market with the careers of billions at risk. And of course, the climate crisis, which rages on in the background, and now in the foreground of our lives?What exactly is uncertainty? And is it always a bad thing?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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

At the end of June, the Supreme Court ruled six to three that the federal government can end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for more than 300,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians currently residing legally in the United States.TPS is a program that allows people from designated countries currently experiencing crises, like natural disasters or civil war, to live and work in the U.S.Some Haitian TPS recipients have been in the U.S. for 16 years. They work in hospitals, warehouses, and factories nationwide. In Springfield, Ohio, they make up nearly a fifth of the city’s population.But their time in America could come to an end as soon as late July.What does the future hold for TPS holders and their families? And what does it mean for the communities and jobs they leave behind?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. 250 years on, are these words still guiding us?The Declaration of Independence marked the start of our American Experiment. Does that document still hold central tenets of who we are as a nation? Deep political polarization has made that question murkier than perhaps ever before.We reflect on what a shared civic gospel looks like for America today and what role faith plays in that search.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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

It’s been nearly a year since a major reshaping of the State Department. It was part of the Trump Administration’s goal to overhaul the federal government and to streamline and reduce redundancies. On July 8, 2025 the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Administration’s massive reduction in force plan. Days later, more than 1,350 employees, including foreign services officers were laid off from the State Department.At the time, the moves were criticized by current and former diplomats. The American Foreign Service Association said, “Losing more diplomatic expertise at this critical global moment is a catastrophic blow to our national interests.”As part of our If You Can Keep it series we ask what this reshaping has meant for U.S. global power, aid, and diplomacy. Also: how is the agency operating today and what happened to all those former employees?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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

It's a milestone birthday for the U.S. this weekend. And we're marking the 250th by taking a look back at this year's Sounds of America series.Every year, the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress selects 25 pieces of sound to add to its collection — songs, speeches, and beyond.In the past, we’ve partnered with the 14th Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, who oversaw this project for nine years. Each spring, 1A worked with Hayden and the Library of Congress to bring you a look at why those honorees matter to America.This year, the Library of Congress looks a little different. President Donald Trump fired Hayden in 2025. The White House cited her “pursuit of DEI” as reason for her dismissal.But we continued our annual series this year with a look at the 2026 inductees. And we'll continue to ask you: What are the sounds of America? Highlights have included Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, Tracy Chapman singing “Fast Car," The Giants’ “shot heard round the world” walk-off home run in 1951. And the theme song from Super Mario. You can nominate your favorite piece of sound through the Library of Congress.Now to the class of 2026: First, we sit down with Rachael Stoeltje. She’s the head of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, which houses and preserves the Library of Congress’ audio and video artifacts. Then, we get the backstory on "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," by the Charlie Daniels Band. We bop along to "Beauty and the Beat" by The Go-Go's and meet members of the all-women rock band. And close it out with the radio broadcast of "The Fight of the Century" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.The Sounds of America series is produced by Jennie Cataldo of Accompany Studios.You can hear all our past Sounds of America interviews with Carla Hayden here. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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

Throughout history, adulthood has often been defined by clear markers — turning 18, moving out of your parents’ home, or getting married. But most of us know that being an adult by law is very different from being one in real life.Traditional markers of adulthood like purchasing a home or getting married are happening later and later these days. The average first-time homebuyer in 1981 was just 29 years old. But in 2025, the median age of a first-time homebuyer was 40. That’s a historic high, according to the National Association of Realtors.People are also hearing wedding bells later in life. One and ten adults are now marrying for the first time between the ages of 40 and 59, according to the Wall Street Journal.What does it mean to be an adult, especially when our definition of adulthood has evolved? And what if you never really feel like a grown-up, even well into old age?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 250 years ago, the founding fathers were days away from adopting the Declaration of Independence.Fast forward to July 4, 2026, two and a half centuries later, has America lived up to those lofty ideals?Is this anniversary a time for celebration, mourning, reckoning, or something else? We hear from 1A listeners on what Independence Day means to them.Note: One of our callers referenced the Frederick Douglass speech ‘What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.’ You can read that here. Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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

Americans are grappling with a rising cost in healthcare. For the first time in five years, fewer than half of Americans can consistently afford healthcare. That’s according to the latest data from Gallup. The cost of healthcare in the US remains higher than any other large, wealthy country. According to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services, five million fewer people are enrolled in marketplace plans for 2026, compared to last year. That’s as average premium costs rose about 58%.With health care costs increasingly becoming a stress for Americans, voters are now making the issue a top priority at the ballot box. And it’s an issue that crosses party and geographic lines. According to new polling from The Century Foundation, 71% of Democrats, 66% of Republicans and 75% of rural voters agree that reigning in hospital costs should be a top priority for lawmakers. While new polling from Ipsos and Axios suggests that a majority of Americans say they’re more likely to vote for candidates in November who will lower their health costs.How will the issue of healthcare shape the midterms? And how are Americans grappling with the cost of their health?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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

President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly personal role in the government’s clemency process, wielding pardons aid his allies and advance his own political grievances.A Reuters investigation found that 96% of Trump’s second-term clemency grants have gone to recipients who didn’t fulfill longstanding DOJ guidelines for such requests. Past presidents on have sidestepped those rules before, but fewer than 1% of those who received clemency during the Biden administration and just 14% of recipients in Trump’s first presidency failed to meet the guidelines.Pardon applicants once had to comply with longstanding DOJ guidelines, such as a five-year wait after conviction or demonstrated remorse for their crimes. But a Reuters’ analysis shows that under Trump, clemency now is far more dependent upon access to his inner circle. They also found that “access is enhanced when an applicant can craft a narrative that resonates with the president’s own sense of victimization.”During his first administration, Trump granted just 238 pardons and commutations, most of which came amid his frantic final days in office. But this term the White House has made clemencies a key part of its agenda.As part of our weekly series “If You Can Keep it,” we discuss pardons in the second Trump Administration.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.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