Trump weakens fuel efficiency standards.
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Trump → weaken → standards
And, Cornell fraternity rape case reopened
Good morning.
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case → reopen → ?
You're reading the Up First newsletter.
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You → read → 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.
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you → subscribe → day
The Trump administration is rolling back federal fuel-economy standards for new vehicles.
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administration → roll → vehicles
American automakers will now be required to improve the efficiency of their fleets by up to 1% a year, aiming for an average of 34.9 miles per gallon by 2031 — down from the Biden-era target of 50.4 mpg.
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automakers → require → mpg
Automakers praised the new standards, saying they better reflect current market demand.
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they → praise → demand
NPR's Willa Rubin tells Up First that critics warn lower fuel efficiency could raise long-term fuel costs and pollution, while U.S. automakers also risk falling behind competitors in markets moving faster toward electric vehicles.
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automakers → tell → vehicles
Warning: The next story describes sexual violence.
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story → describe → violence
New York prosecutors are reopening a 2024 alleged rape case involving Cornell University students.
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prosecutors → reopen → students
A woman identified as Jane Doe says in a new lawsuit that multiple men drugged and raped her at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024.
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men → identify → October
Cornell has defended its response, saying it conducted a months-long Title IX investigation.
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it → defend → investigation
No criminal charges were filed at the time.
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charges → file → time
NPR's Brian Mann says that Cornell's handling of the case has drawn renewed scrutiny.
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handling → say → scrutiny
Campus police investigated the allegations, but local police say they were never notified.
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they → investigate → allegations
Students and recent graduates told NPR they remain concerned about sexual violence and campus safety.
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they → tell → violence
Five British men have been released on bail after being detained near a military base for alleged terror offenses.
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men → release → offenses
The British base is used by the U.S. military for strikes on Iran.
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base → use → Iran
President Trump has questioned why the men were released.
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men → question → ?
NPR's Lauren Frayer reports that British counterterrorism officials are still trying to determine why the men were near the base and whether they may have been acting as proxies for a foreign state, knowingly or unknowingly.
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they → report → state
Iran denies involvement.
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Iran → deny → involvement
British officials are urging the public not to speculate.
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officials → urge → public
Incidentally, Frayer notes that this is an area where residents say there have been thefts of diesel fuel and fertilizer, which is linked to the war with Iran pushing up prices.
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which → note → prices
Turkey is positioning itself for a bigger role in the Middle East as questions grow about the U.S. security footprint in the region.
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questions → position → region
Ankara is expanding its military and political reach, but economic pressures and rising tensions with Israel could limit those ambitions.
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pressures → expand → ambitions
Syria has also become a key test, with Turkey playing a growing role in reconstruction and security as Israel pushes back against its expanding influence.
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Israel → become → influence
Today's listen
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich became the story when Russia arrested him on espionage charges while he was reporting.
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he → become → charges
He spent 16 months in prison before being convicted and released in a prisoner swap.
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He → spend → swap
Gershkovich tells NPR's Leila Fadel that he turned to what he knew: listening, observing and writing.
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he → tell → what
His prison journals became the backbone of his memoir, This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-American Story.
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journals → become → memoir
He also reflects on the strange reversal of being a journalist accustomed to observing others — and suddenly becoming the person everyone was watching.
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everyone → reflect → others
Behind the story
by Peter O'Dowd, Here & Now's host-correspondent
A flood happens like clockwork every summer in Juneau, Alaska.
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flood → happen → Juneau
When the weather warms up, a reservoir in the mountains above the city fills with billions of gallons of melted ice and eventually breaks past the glacial dam holding it back.
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reservoir → warm → it
Even though I'm based in Arizona, I've been watching from afar every year since 2023, when the glacial outburst flood ripped houses into the raging Mendenhall River.
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flood → base → River
My in-laws are from Juneau, and they live in the floodzone.
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they → live → floodzone
That's why it felt like it was time to bring Here & Now's climate-solutions project, Reverse Course, to the last frontier.
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it → feel → frontier
While climate change is threatening lives and livelihoods around the globe, no state in the country has warmed faster than Alaska.
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state → threaten → Alaska
Along with fellow climate journalist Chris Bentley, we boarded small planes, ferries and helicopters to get a close-up view of the risks facing the state.
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we → board → state
Chris met people from the Chilkat Indian Village in Klukwan who are working to create a warning system for landslides triggered by heavy rain; and I spoke with Juneau residents racing to protect the city from glacial floods that are likely to last another 20 years, or more.
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that → meet → years
Thankfully, this summer, my in-law's house and the rest of Juneau stayed dry.
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house → stay → Juneau
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
