Trump's Economic Message, DC Helicopter Crash Report, New Nuclear Regulations
Up First from NPR
NPR
4.6 • 59K Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2026
⏱️ 15 minutes
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Summary
Nearly a year after a deadly midair collision near Washington, D.C., investigators say deep, systemic failures at the FAA allowed known risks to go unaddressed until it was too late.
And NPR has obtained documents showing the Trump administration quietly loosened nuclear safety and environmental rules to fast-track new reactors, raising concerns about oversight and public trust.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Russell Lewis, Brett Neely, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas, Ava Pukatch and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Stacey Abbott.
Our Supervising Producer is HJ Mai.
(0:00) Introduction
(01:55) Trump Economic Message
(05:43) DC Helicopter Crash Report
(10:02) New Nuclear Regulation
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So far this month, President Trump has ordered an attack on Venezuela, tried to take over Greenland and responded to federal agents' shooting citizens. |
| 0:09.4 | Now he's trying to refocus on voters' top concern, the economy. How did he make his case? |
| 0:14.0 | I'm Michelle Martin with Stevenson, and this is up first from NPR News. |
| 0:21.1 | Investigators blame last year's mid-air collision on deep failures of the Federal Aviation |
| 0:25.7 | Administration. |
| 0:26.7 | This was preventable. |
| 0:28.4 | This was 100% preventable. |
| 0:30.6 | What went wrong that caused a military helicopter to crash with a civilian aircraft? |
| 0:35.2 | Also, NPR obtained documents showing the Trump administration |
| 0:38.2 | quietly rewrote nuclear safety rules. Environmental and security protections were loosened |
| 0:43.1 | to speed construction. What are the real world effects? Stay with us. We've got the news you |
| 0:47.7 | need to start your day. |
| 1:02.4 | Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, |
| 1:08.5 | working to restore a balanced relationship between people and planet. The Schmidt Family Foundation is part of the philanthropic organizations and initiatives |
| 1:11.8 | created and funded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to work toward a healthy, resilient, secure world |
| 1:17.8 | for all. On the web at the Schmidt.org. I wonder how a grocery store works. I'm Jesse Thorne. Everyone's |
| 1:25.8 | kind of wondered something like that, right? Including my guest |
| 1:28.1 | Susan Orlean. And she didn't just wonder. She spent six weeks inside a real working grocery store. |
| 1:34.0 | To me, that's really fun. We'll talk about that and her 45 years of brilliant, hilarious |
| 1:38.8 | nonfiction. That's Bolzai. Find us in the NPR app at maximum fund.org or wherever you get your podcasts. President Trump spoke last night in Des Moines. It's Bolzai. Find us in the NPR app at maximum fund.org or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:45.7 | President Trump spoke last night in Des Moines. It's the start of a campaign for an election more |
| 1:50.2 | than nine months away. Iowa Republicans are defending an open Senate seat and other positions in a state |
... |
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