President Trump is now saying tariffs on China will come down substantially, striking a very different tone from the tough talk of a few weeks ago. The President lashed out at Ukrainian President Zelenskyy after he rejected U.S. terms to end the war with Russia, and in a series of executive actions President Trump targeted foreign funding and DEI initiatives at universities and K-12 schools. Want more comprehensive 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 Roberta Rampton, Ryland Barton, Steve Drummond, Janaya Williams and Arezou Rezvani. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Zac Coleman. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to find himself mired in controversy. Also — tributes have poured in from around the world remembering Pope Francis as a leader who advocated for the poor and the dispossessed, and the Supreme Court considers a case brought by parents who want to pull their kids out of public school classes because of objections to some learning materials. Want more comprehensive 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, Ryland Barton, Krishnadev Calamur, Arezou Rezvani and Janaya Williams. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy