The U.S.-Iran ceasefire grows more distant. And, Congress faces a consequential week
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
Strikes between the U.S. and Iran stretched into early today, marking a third straight weekend of fighting. Iran responded to U.S. attacks by striking U.S. allies in the region. The U.S. weekend attacks came after Iran announced the closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
A man holds a poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a gathering commemorating him at a square in Tehran on Saturday.
Vahid Salemi/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Vahid Salemi/AP
- 🎧 The U.S. Central Command announced that it has degraded Iran’s capacity to attack international shipping in the Strait after it hit several Iranian targets, NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi tells Up First. Iran reported one death from the U.S. strikes and said an agricultural water pumping station in central Iran was hit, killing a guard. The status of negotiations remains unclear, though Iran says it’s still in touch with mediators, including Oman, Qatar and Pakistan. The war’s effects continue to be felt worldwide, with benchmark global oil prices jumping more than 4% when markets opened Monday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., died at 71. The D.C. medical examiner’s preliminary findings identified aortic dissection due to a type of heart disease as the cause of death. Graham served nearly 25 years in the Senate and became a key ally in advancing President Trump’s policies and staffing priorities.
- 🎧 Graham was one of the last champions of a traditional Republican belief in America as the world’s protector, NPR’s Eric McDaniel says. He had just returned from an overseas trip to strengthen security ties with European allies. Graham maintained a close relationship with Trump, acting as a key go-between during critical moments, including lobbying Senate colleagues to acquit Trump after he tried to cling to power following his 2020 election loss, McDaniel says.
- 🎧 Congress returns today with tighter margins for Republicans following Graham’s death and the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell. McConnell revealed yesterday that a fall led to his hospitalization. Senate Republicans have set a hearing for Trump’s attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, but the next steps remain uncertain due to concerns among some members, according to NPR’s Claudia Grisales. Lawmakers are also weighing a Russia sanctions bill that Graham championed, with some Republicans pushing to rename the bill in his honor and advance it this week.
Prisoners can file complaints about mistreatment, but retaliation often follows, according to an investigation by NPR and The Marshall Project. In 2023, fewer than 2% of grievances filed in federal prisons were approved, with most rejected for procedural errors or closed for other reasons. Court records, lawsuits, and interviews revealed that many cases go unreported because the same officers accused of abuse often silence those seeking help.
A prominent Palestinian doctor, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, is close to dying in an Israeli prison after being held for 18 months without charge or trial, according to his lawyer, who says he has endured daily beatings from Israeli prison guards. NPR’s Emily Feng tells Morning Edition that reports of his treatment led to a small protest in Israel and a petition calling for the release of Dr. Abu Safiya and 13 other Palestinian doctors.
Picture show
Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, Mexican-born, Brooklyn-based visual artist in his studio in Ridgewood, Queens, on May 14, 2026.
Laila AnnMarie Stevens for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Laila AnnMarie Stevens for NPR
Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez’s art exhibition “Ni De Aquí, Ni De Allá” features vibrant resin sculptures that look like playful pop art but contain items like handcuffs, replica guns and old rosaries. The show, reflecting the artist’s Mexican American background, opened at the University of North Texas before administrators closed it over concerns about what art could be displayed under Trump administration policies. Take a look at the artwork and read more here.
Behind the story
by Andrea Hsu, NPR’s labor and workplace correspondent
Kwame Crockett started working at the plant a few days a week but now he works full-time hours.
Julie Holder for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Julie Holder for NPR
Flexible work is something that I’ve followed closely since the pandemic. Remote work exploded, then was rolled back. The tantalizing idea of a four-day workweek has become a reality in pockets of the country.
But through all this reporting, seldom do I hear about flexibility in a blue-collar job. In fact, I often hear quite the opposite. In 2022, freight railroad workers nearly went on strike as they protested strict attendance policies that kept them away from family events and even doctors’ visits. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain’s pitch for a four-day workweek for assembly workers was brushed aside as a pipe dream.
So I was intrigued when I heard from folks at GE Appliances that they had opened the doors to part-time, flexible work at a couple of their plants. It sounded so unusual that I had to go see it myself. I traveled to the company’s kitchen appliance plant in LaFayette, Georgia.
Tony Gabbert, director of manufacturing operations, told me the idea began during COVID when workers were staying home just as demand for ovens and ranges was soaring. Some days, Gabbert himself had to work on the line to keep things moving. Amid this crunch, he learned about a staffing company called MyWorkChoice, which recruits part-time workers who could fill in as needed, picking their own shifts through an app.
His boss thought the idea was crazy. Letting outside folks just drop in for a few hours at a time was unheard of in an industry that runs on consistency. But it paid off. Today, about 450 flexible workers join full-time employees on the assembly line each week. Together, they keep the factory humming.
Gabbert says they’ve discovered that there’s an entire population of people out there who don’t want to work the traditional 40-hour workweek and don’t need or don’t care about the benefits that come with full-time jobs. They’re often retirees, mothers with young children and people with other jobs or passion projects.
With a push to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S., the workers have to come from somewhere. For GE Appliances, this has proven to be a viable solution.
3 things to know before you go
Entrepreneur David Huang tests out a VR headset while conducting demonstrations of the social dance lesson app Dance Guru at the Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, Calif. June 17, 2026.
Chloe Veltman/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Chloe Veltman/NPR
- Virtual reality apps like Dance Guru and Trip the Light offer a judgment-free environment to learn partner dancing, including salsa, bachata, and the waltz.
- As many younger Jewish Americans question supporting the state of Israel, an increasing number are discovering community through learning Yiddish.
- Colorado passed a new law that requires companies to recycle unwanted electric vehicle batteries they sold, addressing the issue of recycling costs exceeding the batteries’ value.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen and Majd Al-Waheidi.
- Admin
- Rihanna surprises fans with her first performance in years at Jay-Z concert: I ‘missed this s–t’ July 13, 2026
- Conservative groups say Justice Kagan cannot be impartial in upcoming Supreme Court climate litigation July 13, 2026
- I finally started using retinol, and this viral Anua gua sha cream is the reason July 13, 2026
- Heat Waves in Europe Linked to Thousands of Excess Deaths July 13, 2026
- Former Home Run Derby participant discusses why MLB All-Star festivities are the best in sports July 13, 2026