Swalwell Resignation, Strait Of Hormuz Standoff, Trump Feuds with Pope Leo
Up First from NPR
NPR
4.6 • 59K Ratings
🗓️ 14 April 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
The U.S. and Iran are both blocking the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices are surging, and virtually every country on earth is feeling the pain.
And President Trump is feuding with the first American-born pope, calling him weak on crime for opposing the war, the pope says he has no fear of the Trump administration.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Jason Breslow, Andrew Sussman, Rebekah Metzler, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Ava Pukatch.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Stacey Abbott.
And our Supervising Senior Producer is Vince Pearson.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:57) Swalwell Resignation
(05:45) Strait Of Hormuz Standoff
(09:38) Trump Feuds with Pope Leo
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell is resigning after multiple women accuse him of sexual assault and misconduct. |
| 0:08.0 | I've certainly made mistakes and judgment in my past. |
| 0:11.3 | One week ago, he was a frontrunner for a California governor. Now he's out of the race and out of a job. |
| 0:16.1 | I'm A minute Martinez. That is Michelle Martin, and this is up first from NPR News. |
| 0:22.2 | Neither the U.S. nor Iran are letting ships pass through the straight-up Hormuz. |
| 0:26.2 | The blockade has sent oil prices surging again, and the world is feeling it. |
| 0:31.0 | What are the prospects of another round of negotiations? |
| 0:33.0 | And President Trump is feuding with the first American-born Pope for opposing the war with Iran. |
| 0:38.0 | He attacked Pope Leo the way he attacks political opponents, calling him weak on crime. |
| 0:42.5 | The Pope responded by saying he is not a politician and that he has no fear of the Trump administration. |
| 0:47.6 | Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day. |
| 1:02.5 | One week ago, Representative Eric Swalwell was seen by many as the frontrunner in the California governor's race. |
| 1:06.8 | This morning, the seven-term Democrat is on his way out of Congress. |
| 1:14.6 | Swalwell announced his resignation yesterday after facing allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from multiple women, including at least one former staffer. And parapolitical reporter Elena Moore has been covering this and is with us now. Good morning, Elena. |
| 1:18.6 | Good morning, Michelle. |
| 1:19.6 | This all seems to have happened pretty fast. So bring us up to date here. What are the allegations against Swalwell? |
| 1:24.6 | Yes, Swalwell has been at the center of controversy since just last week, when |
| 1:29.1 | rumors began to circulate online about him and an alleged history of abusive behavior towards |
| 1:34.9 | women. By Friday, the controversy gained steam. After at least four women spoke with the San Francisco |
| 1:41.1 | Chronicle and CNN about experiences they had with Swalwell, ranging |
| 1:45.6 | from unwanted sexual advances by the congressman to allegations of rape. And NPR has not |
| 1:51.6 | independently verified the allegations, and Swalwell has forcefully denied them. But still, |
... |
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