Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
Today's top stories
President Trump and Elon Musk, a duo that once seemed inseparable, are going through a breakup. Disagreements over the GOP budget bill erupted yesterday. The two men used their respective social media platforms to hurl personal attacks at each other. After Trump threatened on Truth Social to eliminate billions in federal subsidies and contracts to Musk's companies, Musk responded by asserting, without evidence, that the president is mentioned in government documents regarding convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
- 🎧 This is a remarkable break because of the way Trump has elevated Musk, NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben tells Up First. Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump get elected and has made it clear he feels he deserved even more in return. The disagreement started over the "big, beautiful bill," which Musk has loudly criticized for days due to its cost. Trump says Musk is angry over how the bill would cut tax incentives for people buying electric cars and he believes Musk missed the power and attention he had in government.
Trump has claimed that his tariffs will lead to greater prosperity for America, and there is now evidence supporting this assertion. Reports from the Treasury Department indicate that the tariffs have generated nearly $70 billion in revenue so far this year. A new forecast from the Congressional Budget Office says that if the tariffs continue, they could shave $2.8 trillion off the federal debt over the next decade.
- 🎧 The tariffs could help fill the hole that congressional Republicans have been digging, but it's important to keep in mind that this revenue is mostly being paid by Americans, NPR's Scott Horsley says. Patrick Allen, a wine importer in Columbus, Ohio, says the tariff revenue is a tax on the backs of people who are importing raw materials and eventually will be built into the price everybody is paying for goods. "Say if I order $100,000 of wine from France. If there's a 20% tariff, I'll have to pay $20,000 to get the wine out of customs before I sell a bottle," Allen said.
Migrant detainees staged a protest at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement-run facility in Miami yesterday. The protests were captured by local news helicopters showing demonstrators lined up in the courtyard of the Krome Detention Center, spelling out "SOS" with their bodies. Krome is currently experiencing severe overcrowding. Detainees have reported illnesses and limited access to medication.
- 🎧 NPR's Jasmine Garsd reports that one of the first tips received about Krome came from Maria, a woman whose brother is inside the facility. Maria said they have been sleeping on cement floors, they are not being fed, and the food is spoiled. Garsd says there is evidence that this is a national issue. ICE detention centers are seemingly at 125% capacity. ICE says the overcrowding is temporary, but the Trump administration has promised more arrests. Overcrowding is one of the reasons a major goal for the administration is self-deportation.
Today's listen
Seth MacFarlane, best known for creating American Dad! and Family Guy, has another passion: singing. The five-time Grammy nominee has released a new album of songs that came to life from a trove of previously unheard arrangements written for Frank Sinatra. Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements features 12 of the songs recorded for the first time in full with an orchestra. Listen to snippets of MacFarlane's new album and read more about what this music means to him.
Weekend picks
Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:
🍿 Movies: John Wick is back in the spinoff film Ballerina, which stars Ana de Armas as a ballerina-turned-assassin navigating the international criminal underworld.
📺 TV: From MobLand to Your Friends & Neighbors, TV critic Eric Deggans shares 10 of the coolest TV projects from this year you might have missed.
📚 Books: New arrivals at the bookstore this week include fiction from Susan Choi, essays from Evan Osnos and a memoir from Molly Jong-Fast. Here's a breakdown of those books and more.
🎵 Music: Today is filled with new music from Lil Wayne, Addison Rae, Cynthia Erivo, Rascal Flatts and many more. Luckily, you can listen to the best song from each album in one place: this curated playlist.
🎭 Theater: She Who Dared is believed to be the first professionally staged opera written by two Black women. It showcases women who, alongside Rosa Parks — and in some cases before her — refused to give up their seats to white riders on segregated buses. (via WBEZ)
❓ Quiz: So much happened this week, and luckily, I remember most of it as I got eight out of 11 right. Now, it's your turn to attempt to beat my score.
3 things to know before you go
- Divorce lawyers and researchers say that divorce filings show a seasonal pattern of spiking in early spring and late summer.
- Vietnam has eliminated its longstanding two-child policy to address a declining birth rate and a shrinking working-age population.
- Over 200 wildfires are raging across Canada, sending a thick blanket of smoke across the U.S. Midwest. Experts say climate change means the U.S. could get used to it, as we're likely to see more frequent and severe wildfires.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
Copyright 2025 NPR