Up First from NPR - DHS Shutdown, Ukraine Peace Talks, Olympics Stars Stumble

Episode Date: February 16, 2026

Congress is out on recess as a partial shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security is underway after talks collapsed over immigration enforcement reforms.Officials from the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine prepare for new peace talks in Geneva as Moscow presses territorial demands and Kyiv insists on security guarantees.And at the Winter Olympics in Italy, American speed skater Jordan Stolz is making history while other superstar athletes struggle with the intense pressure of competing on the world’s biggest stage.Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Jason Breslow, Kate Bartlett, Tina Kraya, Eric Whitney, Mohamad ElBardicy and Adam Bearne.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. And our technical director is Simon-Laslo Janssen.(0:00) Introduction(01:57) DHS Shutdown(05:38) Ukraine Peace Talks(09:26) Olympics Stars StumbleLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Another day, another missed deadline. Funding ran out for the Department of Homeland Security, and Congress went home. The lapse points to a consistent failure by lawmakers to do their job on time. What's going wrong? I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Foddle, and this is up first from NPR News. Diplomats from the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine meet in Geneva Tuesday for a new round of peace talks. Here's how Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the problem. We don't know if the Russians are serious about ending the war. Many analysts think Russia is not serious, so where is the negotiation going? Also, why did some of the world's best athletes stumble at the Olympics?

Speed skater Jordan Stoles won gold, but other team USA stars didn't get the results they were hoping for. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 current. with only a few simple taps. Be smart. Get Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit Wise.com. T's and Cs apply. How could your favorite NPR podcast get any better? Well, what if it had bonus features such as extended interviews and zero sponsor breaks? There is a remarkably easy way to turn that fantasy into reality. It's called NPR Plus. You get perks across more than 25 NPR podcasts while supporting the teams that make them. Make great podcasts, even great podcasts, even great. greater by visiting plus.npr.org. The third partial shutdown of the U.S. government in three months is having less obvious effects than the others.

Funding ran out for the Department of Homeland Security, though key employees like airport security remain on the job. Rather than immediate chaos, the funding lapse points to a larger issue, the consistent failure by Congress to do its job on time. The missed deadline does make it harder for the government to think ahead, and it's become routine. NPR congressional reporter Sam Greenglass was listening to lawmakers as they didn't work things out over the past several days. Sam, good morning. Hey, Steve. Why does this keep happening? Yeah, so this latest effort seems to be following, I guess, a familiar cycle. A crisis captures national attention, in this case, the deadly shootings of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents in Minneapolis, or recently health subsidies expiring and

spiking premiums. A number of Democrats. and Republicans suggest that they will respond, like when Republican Senator Bernie Moreno said last month that a bipartisan deal to save the subsidies was in the red zone only for talks to fizzle, leaving both sides pointing fingers. Shouldn't we be here trying to figure out how to solve problems rather than trying to figure out how to score political points for the purposes of an next election?

Well, is that a fair assessment that Congress can't get anything done? Yeah, some lawmakers would push back, like Republican Senator Susan Collins. I asked her why bipartisan. partisan talk seemed to keep crumbling. And she rejected that idea, pointing to all the spending bills that Congress has agreed to. I don't know how you can possibly describe that as crumbling. That's Congress reasserting its power of the purse. Okay, that's an interesting argument. Congress has been very, very obedient over the last year. And she's saying, I actually know now we're

pushing back and funding things the way we want to. But why is it difficult for Congress to act on these hot-button issues that get a lot of public interest. I put that question to former Democratic Senator Heidi Hydecamp, and she told me that once the shock of a crisis wears off, lawmakers go back to their corners. And while bipartisan deals have always been delicate, many lawmakers today see less incentive as politics becomes more tribal. The base on both sides, their willingness to reward compromise is greatly diminished. And Democratic Senator Tim Cain says that on some issues, finding consensus is just really hard.

On health care, on immigration, the parties are in fundamentally very, very different places. Okay, so let's circle back to this DHS shutdown, the partial shutdown. Any progress toward an agreement over the weekend? The White House and Democrats have been trading offers, but Democrats have described a Republican proposal so far as insufficient. And Republicans are calling Democrats demands unresolved. reasonable, like requiring judicial warrants for some enforcement operations. And judging by how fast lawmakers left D.C. last Thursday for a week-long recess, the two sides are still far apart. Could this shutdown last long enough that we could feel some effects? Members have been told to be ready to come back this week if there's a deal. Meanwhile, immigration enforcement will continue.

Congress already gave ICE billions of dollars last year. Disaster response has money to work with for a while, and TSA agents won't miss a paycheck for a few weeks, so most Americans may not notice this shutdown unless it drags on. Okay, we'll see what happens in days to come. NPR Sam Greenglass. Thanks so much. You're welcome. Russian, Ukrainian, and American officials meet in Geneva, Switzerland tomorrow for another round of negotiations focused on the war in Ukraine. Yeah, the talks come as the Russian full-scale invasion nears its four-year mark. Hard to believe it's been four years.

NPR's Charles Mains has been covering it all. He's on the line from Moscow. Hey there, Charles. Morning. Is there anything about these talks that would suggest they would turn out any differently than all the other talks? Well, you know, President Trump's preferred negotiators for seemingly everything these days. That's White House envoy, Steve Whitkoff, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. They're representing the U.S., and they've been rather upbeat about the prospect for a deal.

Okay. But in remarks at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, as Secretary of State Marker Rubio was far more cautious, particularly when it came to Russia. The answer is we don't know. We don't know the Russians are serious about ending the war. They say they are. And under what terms they were willing to do it and whether we can find terms that are acceptable to Ukraine upon that Russia will always agree to. But we're going to continue to test it.

Testing what the Russian position is. Is it clear to you what the Russian position is as you listen to people there in Moscow? Well, the Kremlin's line here is it prefers diplomacy to conflict. but that Russian victory is also inevitable. So give us what we want or we'll take it by force. But I think we have to be clear that this is also part of the Russian strategy in its negotiations with the White House to try and convince the U.S. that Ukraine's cause is hopeless.

Moreover, the Kremlin is suggesting that once this war is settled, the U.S. and Russia can get back to business with massive investment opportunities. And White House negotiators, Steve Whitkoff, in particular, has made clear he sees business and profits as key to bridging differences between a post-war Russia and Ukraine. Oh, that's really interesting. So the Russians are saying, if you just go along with us, there's money to be made. The Americans are interested in making the money, but they still don't even have a deal. So what are the key hangups here? Yeah, U.S. efforts have really bogged down on the issue of

territorial concessions and security agreements. Russia's demanding Ukraine seed territory, including parts claimed but not occupied by Russian forces. Ukraine argues why should we give up territory that Russia's been unable to take in four years, or if for some reason they were to agree to that, then they certainly want ironclad security guarantees from the West and from the U.S. in particular, some assurance that Russia simply won't come back and attack again. But speaking to Munich over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made it clear he's under pressure from the White House to sign onto a deal. The Americans often return to the topic of concessions, and too often those concessions are

discussed in the context only of Ukraine, not Russia. Okay, so that's Zelensky's view of this, that only he is being forced to concede and still not getting to a deal. I want to ask about another bit of news on this. European nations had an announcement over the weekend about Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader. What did you hear? Yeah, today marks two years to the day, in fact, since Navalny died in a remote prison in Russia's Arctic. Now, several European countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, say analyses of Navalny's remains that were smuggled out of Russia, conclusively confirmed the presence of epipatididine.

This is a toxin found in poisonous dart frogs in South America. They're not native to Russia. The U.S. says it doesn't dispute those findings. Russian officials, however, continue to say Navalny died from natural causes, but these European findings would appear to support what Navalny's family and his supporters have certainly always maintained that he was murdered. NPR's Charles Mains is in Moscow. Thanks as always for your insights.

Really appreciate it. Thank you, Steve. U.S. Speed Skater, Jordan Stolls, won his second gold medal over the weekend at the Milan-Cortina Games. There were also some super high-profile stumbles. U.S. alpine skier, Michaela Schifrin, again fell short of a medal. NPR's Brian Mann is in Cortina Dempzzo, Italy this morning. Hi, Brian. Hi, Lela.

Was Jordan Stolls expected to be this strong? You know, he came into these games with high expectations, but Stoltz is having an amazing run in Milan. He set two Olympic records here, including this 500-meter race Saturday. He's the first male speed skater to win the 500,000-meter races in one game since 1980. But not such a strong outing over the weekend for U.S. speed skater,

Aaron Jackson. She won gold in the 500-meter four years ago, but finished fifth yesterday. and as mentioned, Alpine skier, Michaela Schifrin, also finished well behind the frontrunner Sunday. This was her eighth straight Olympic event dating back to the Beijing Games where she's failed to medal. She spoke to reporters afterward. She said she feels really hopeful going into her last race here on Wednesday. The Slalom, it's her best chance to break this Olympic losing streak.

Now, Ryan, Schifford and Jackson are not alone. A bunch of athletes who are expected to boost the U.S. medal count are going home disappointed. And you've been looking at the science behind. this. What have you learned? Yeah, you know, the brain is a wonderful thing, but scientists I've been talking to say sometimes it gets in the way of elite athletes. After he fell repeatedly in his figure skating program Friday, Ilya Malin, talked about the pressure of the Olympics. He told reporters all his preparation kind of unraveled. Dr. Cian Gupta is a sports performance psychologist and researcher at the University of Portsmouth in England. He's an expert on this phenomenon. It's known as

the Yips or the Twisties. You know, Yips, Twisties, these are actually very highly studied. So the technical term of that is performance failure or performance blocks. Gupta says athletes train for this pressure. They work with therapists. They have all kinds of tricks for quieting the brain and letting their deep muscle training take over. Everything from meditation to listening to loud music to dancing. But the unique pressure that happens at the Olympics sometimes overwhelms all that preparation.

In most sports, it's about a 10-minute period. every four years. That's when you're actually competing in the finals for the medals, right? This is what we characterize as an acute and immediate stress environment. But Leila, there is one hopeful thing here. Experts tell me athletes who fall apart at one Olympics often learn from it. They come back stronger. You'll remember the figure skater Nathan Chen fell apart at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, then triumphed four years later. The gymnast, Simone Biles withdrew from competition at the Tokyo Games, then in Paris won three gold and a silver. So a painful experience for these athletes, but not always the end of the story.

Now, some other countries have seen history-making moments from their top athletes. Who are you watching? Yeah, big weekend. Let's start with the hometown favorites. Italy. Such a great story. Alpine skier, Frederica Brinonia, shattered her leg in a crash less than a year ago. She's come back to win two gold medals so far here in Cortina. She won the giant slalom yesterday. And then there's Norway, where cross-country skier, Johannes Klebo, made history over the weekend. He's won four gold medals so far here. He has nine gold on his career. That's the most of any Winter Olympian. And he could add two more golds before this event wraps up. And I want to mention one other history-making moment here over the weekend. Lucas Pinero Broughton won gold

skiing for Brazil in Men's Giant Sala. And Lela, it turns out this is the first Winter Olympic medal ever for an athlete from South America. Amazing. Okay. NPR's Brian Mann in Cortina. This morning. Thank you, Brian. Thank you. And that's up first for this Monday, February 16th. I'm Steven's Keefe. And I'm Layla Falded. For more Olympics coverage, check out Up First Winter Games, a new video podcast from NPR. New episodes drop throughout the games every afternoon at YouTube.com slash NPR. You get to see the NPR voices that you normally hear. Today's up first was edited by Jason Breslo, Kate Bartlett, Tina Craya, Eric Whitney,

Muhammad El Bardisi, and Adam Bearn. It was produced. produced by Zionad Butch and Nia DeMas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Highness and our technical director is Simon Laslo Janssen. Join us again tomorrow.