Hundreds of U.S.-based scholars say the United States is swiftly heading away from liberal democracy and towards some form of authoritarianism. In this episode of The Sunday Story, NPR's Frank Langfitt speaks to people who have fled authoritarian regimes for America. They say some of the Trump administration's tactics remind them of home. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The U.S. Supreme Court seemed divided as justices heard arguments debating how lower courts should handle President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship. Trump heads back to Washington after four days of pomp in the Middle East. The first week of the federal criminal trial of Sean Combs featured testimony alleging a pattern of control and violence. 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 Krishnadev Calamur, Jacob Ganz, Roberta Rampton, Ally Schweitzer and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ana Perez, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis, and our technical director is Carleigh Strange. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy