1A

The morning after major airstrikes by Israel on Iran’s oil facilities, black rain fell in Tehran. The city of nearly 10 million people was engulfed in thick black smoke. The World Health Organization is warning that “the conflict in the Middle East poses serious threats to public health.” A new report from the Climate and Community Institute finds that the war unleashed over 5 million tons of carb...

The United States Postal Service has delivered mail for 250 years, from the busiest cities to the most remote parts of the country. But decades of money troubles have left the USPS billions of dollars in debt. Now, the postmaster general warns that the agency could run out of money by October – and is urging Congress to save it. We explore the uncertain future of USPS with a panel of experts. Find...

Owning a house appears further and further out of reach for many people in the U.S. The problem is a national one. The median price for an American home is now just over $400,000. On average, houses cost five years of the median salary for someone working in the U.S. In some cities on the West Coast and in parts of Florida, that ratio is now eight years of salary to buy a home. Rents have also gon...

The U.S. has a long history of getting rid of foreign leaders it doesn’t like. But a new pattern has emerged in the Trump administration’s dealings with its foreign adversaries. In January, the president ordered a precision military operation that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the U.S. The next month, the administration launched a high-powered bombing campaign again...

As Israel and the U.S. continue to fire missiles at targets within Iran, the American military and President Donald Trump are weighing the costs and benefits of putting U.S. boots on the ground in the Middle East once again. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s Department of Homeland Security confirmation hearing saw him clash with his fellow congresspeople. Despite the meeting’s testy tone, the commi...

Cases of colorectal cancer in young people have risen nearly 60 percent since the early 2000s. That’s according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and the National Cancer Institute. And a new study out this month by the American Cancer Society found that colorectal cancer is now the deadliest kind for those younger than 50. But this rise isn’t being felt across all generations in the sam...

Big changes are coming to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. With Kristi Noem out at the Department of Homeland Security, all eyes are on FEMA to roll out millions of dollars in stalled federal funding for disaster responses. That’s especially true in North Carolina, where the western part of the state is still grappling with the effects of Hurricane Helene. We sit down with a panel of exper...

Wars are fought by militaries — but they’re usually ended by diplomats. So, what happens when diplomacy is sidelined? Officials from Washington and Tehran engaged in talks for weeks, trying to avoid war before the U.S. and Israel fired missiles targeting Iran weeks ago. Now, as President Donald Trump publicly muses about why the military is engaged in another conflict in the Middle East, experts a...

President Donald Trump and his administration and allies have sent mixed messages about the war with Iran in the first two weeks of the operation. The Secretary of Defense called it war. Now, the Speaker of the House said thus conflict with Iran is not a war. Whatever the president decides to call the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign – it’s cost the lives of 13 American troops and more than 2,000 peopl...

Two weeks into the war with Iran, the United States has spent more than $10 billion dollars. The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Iranians and seven American service members. Those numbers are likely to grow if there are boots on the ground, a possibility that Trump Administration officials refuse to rule out. The president traveled to Kentucky and Ohio this week where he went on...

Waging war is not cheap. Experts estimate that the U.S. has already spent more than $10 billion launching missiles at Iran in the past few weeks. Meanwhile, thanks to fighting in the Strait of Hormuz disrupting the global energy supply trade, the price of oil is rising sharply worldwide. With no clear end in sight, how will Congress wrangle the high price tag of the war – economically and politica...

Religion keeps coming up when Trump administration officials discuss their joint military operation with Israel against Iran. This kind of rhetoric comes as concerns grow over the crumbling of the separation between church and state in the Trump administration’s military. Now, more than two dozen democratic congresspeople are requesting an investigation into a report that some military leaders are...

Donald Trump made a clear promise on the campaign trail. “I will tell you you’re not going to have a war with me and you’re not going to have a third world war with me, that I can tell you,” he said. And the president doubled down in his inaugural address last year. These have been key promises for much of his MAGA base who’ve applauded his domestic policy focus. But since taking office, President...

Days before the United States dropped its first bombs on Iran, FBI Director Kash Patel fired members of a team that monitored threats from the Islamic Republic. The reason? They had investigated President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. That move came amid a year of layoffs, budget cuts, resignations, and shifting priorities across America’s national security agencies — including...

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Kristi Noem, his pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was leaving the agency amidst serious questions surrounding funding and the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in cities around the country. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s war with Iran has now claimed the lives of six American. And Iran’s Red Crescent society is saying...

It’s been a month since the Justice Department released more than 3 million documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In that time, dozens of people were scrutinized for their close ties to Epstein, who died by suicide while in prison in 2019. Among those named in the documents is Donald Trump. The president has long denied any crimes related to Epstein. And there’s no public evidence tha...

Over the past year, the United States government has deported hundreds of people using a rare method of removal: putting them on a plane and sending them to a country to which they have no connection. It’s called a “third country deportation.” When the deported immigrants arrive, the “third” country detains them. Or it ships them right back out to their country of origin. And the U.S. foots the bi...

For months, the Department of Homeland Security has been plagued by allegations of chaos. Meanwhile, the funding fight over DHS and a partial government shutdown continues. Now, U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in Iran over the weekend are adding pressure for Congress to reach a funding agreement for the agency amid national security concerns. What’s happening at DHS? We sit down with a panel of expert...

The United States is once again at war in the Middle East. The Trump administration, with support from Israel, made targeted air strikes against high-profile targets in Iran this weekend. Tehran responded by firing its own missiles at nearby Israeli and American military bases. This all comes after weeks of talks between Washington and Tehran over the latter’s nuclear program and a major military...

President Donald Trump delivered the first State of the Union address of his second term in office, lauding the strength of American economy. But even though wealthier Americans are benefiting financially from the positive economic trends, lower-income households are increasingly finding themselves left behind. Meanwhile, Democrats are holding government firm over funding the Department of Homelan...

Millions of people struggle to become pregnant in the U.S. And in 2024, fertility rates reached a new low, according to CDC data. Women are also waiting longer to have kids, while a growing number are deciding to opt out entirely. That’s part of the reason the Trump administration is pushing for a baby boom and promising to make in-vitro fertilization more accessible. Earlier this month, the admin...

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump delivered the first State of the Union address of his second term. It comes at a pivotal moment in Trump’s presidency. Approval of his performance – and policies – have hit new lows among the American people. Add to that last week’s Supreme Court ruling that overturned the administration’s tariffs — a centerpiece of Trump’s agenda — and all of a sudden, the...

Despite a supposed personnel drawdown, the Department of Homeland Security is calling its ICE rollout in Minnesota the largest immigration operation ever. Now that thousands of federal agents are leaving, how are the state and its communities faring? We check in with the neighbors, school leaders, and small business owners keeping Minnesota running. Find more of our programs online . Listen to 1A...

President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has real human costs. Some 13 people have been shot by ICE and federal agents since September, two of which were fatal. The number of people held in detention centers increased by nearly 75 percent in 2025. Around 68,000 people are currently detained in these facilities, according to the latest ICE data. And those arrested with no criminal record rose...

The Department of Homeland Security issued a memo this week advising federal agents they should detain refugees and migrants who have not yet obtained a green card for an indefinite period of time for rescreening. This puts many people admitted to the U.S. during the Biden administration at risk. Across the U.S., the mayors of major cities like Chicago and Los Angeles are taking steps to limit ICE...