Up First from NPR - Trump's Ceasefire, Supreme Court Immigration Ruling, NYC Mayoral Primary

Episode Date: June 24, 2025

President Trump announced on social media that Iran and Israel have agreed to a total ceasefire, and the US Supreme Court says the Trump administration will be allowed to quickly deport immigrants to countries they are not from. Also, New York City's Democratic mayoral primary is today. It's a tight race that's brought attention to the city's ranked-choice voting system.Want more comprehensive 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 Roberta Rampton, Gigi Douban, Andrea De Leon, Janaya Williams and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Zo van Ginhoven. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump declared a ceasefire had begun between Israel and Iran. But then Israel says Iran fired missiles. Iran denied it and Israel vowed to respond. Is the ceasefire already over? I'm Michelle Martin with Leila Fadl and this is Up First from NPR News. The Supreme Court reverses a decision to pause the deportation of immigrants to countries they're not from. that has immigrant advocates worried. The risks of harm that people face are extreme.

I mean, they include torture, they include death. That harm cannot be undone. What reasoning did the justices give for that decision? And New York City's Democratic mayoral primary is today. It's a tight race between a new face in the Democratic Party and a political veteran. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. The House of Representatives has approved a White House request to claw back two years of previously approved funding for public media. The rescissions

package now moves on to the Senate. This move poses a serious threat to local stations and public media as we know it. Please take a stand for public media today at GoACPR.org. Thank you. Decades ago, Brazilian women made a discovery. They could have an abortion without a doctor thanks to a tiny pill. That pill spawned a global movement, helping millions of women

have safe abortions regardless of the law. Hear that story on the network from NPR's embedded and futuro media, wherever you get your podcasts. On the plus side, you get sponsor-free listening to over 25 NPR podcasts. On the minus side, you get fewer chances to tap fast forward on your podcast player. On the plus side, you get to support something you care about. On the minus side, you like challenges and think this makes it too easy. So why don't you join us on the plus side of things with NPR Plus? Learn more and sign up at plus.npr.org. 12 days ago, Israel began striking Iran, damaging its nuclear facilities and killing scientists

and military officials, some in their homes. The conflict quickly escalated and over the weekend, the U.S. got directly involved, dropping bunker buster bombs on key nuclear sites. Last night, President Trump announced on social media that there is a ceasefire, and shortly after, Vice President Vance was on Fox News trying to turn the page on the conflict. I think the president really hit the reset button and said, look, let's actually produce long-term peace for the region. That's always been his goal.

But the situation at the moment is quite fluid. It is, and joining us to talk through what's going on is senior White House correspondent, Tamara Keith. Hey, Tam. Hi. So what can you tell us about the ceasefire? Overnight, we got word that both Israel and Iran had agreed to the ceasefire. But right up to the time it was supposed to take effect, Israel intensified its strikes in Iran. And then, just as it should have been taking effect, Israel says Iran sent a barrage of missiles in its direction, something Iranian state media is denying.

Now Israel's defense minister says he has ordered a forceful response involving, quote, intense strikes against targets in the heart of Tehran. So it looks like the firing hasn't ceased. But the situation is often pretty dicey and uncertain at the start of any ceasefire. Just after one in the morning, President Trump posted on his social media site imploring in all caps, please do not violate it. Last night when he announced the ceasefire, he said it should be called the 12 day war, already naming it in anticipation that this means the war is over. Yeah, it feels like so much has happened in a matter of hours. I mean,

yesterday people were glued to their televisions as Iran retaliated against the US strikes in Iran with strikes of its own on a US airbase in Qatar. What impact did that have? You know, Trump downplayed the significance of the Iranian retaliatory strikes, noting that the US had gotten a heads up, which minimized the damage. There were no injuries. Trump called it weak. Symbolic may be a better word for it since the Iranians fired at an airbase in Qatar, where the president had delivered a speech to US troops just last month. And then shortly after those missiles streaked through the sky, Qatar played a key role in brokering this tenuous ceasefire.

Okay. Well, the White House has been saying that Iran's nuclear program is destroyed after the US strikes. Experts have questioned that. Any updates on the impact there? Right. As you say, outside observers say it is unlikely that it has been totally destroyed. Satellite imagery shows that US missiles hit their targets with accuracy, but what is less clear is whether the nuclear materials were there and whether they were destroyed. Trump went after journalists reporting this as fake news with no credibility. Last night on Fox News, Brett Baer pressed Vice President J.D. Vance on whether the administration

knows where Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium is located now. And Vance sidestepped. Well, Brett, I think that's actually not the question before us. The question before us is can Iran enrich the uranium to weapons grade level and can they convert that fuel to a nuclear weapon? Vance said the US strikes destroyed Iran's ability to enrich the fuel to the level needed to make a weapon. You know, at various points in this conflict,

the president has issued threats to Iran's supreme leader, even floating regime change, saying it wouldn't be a bad thing. What are they saying now? Well, now the White House is saying is that what Trump meant was that it's up to the Iranian people to decide. In terms of actions being louder than messaging, the ceasefire agreement was reached with the existing regime. I'm Piers Tamarkey. Thank you, Tam. You're welcome.

A US Supreme Court ruling handed down last night makes it easier for the Trump administration to deport immigrants to countries that are not their own. A federal judge in Boston had put that plan on hold, saying deportees were being denied due process. But the Supreme Court yesterday reversed that, enabling those deportations to continue. It's a decision that is alarming many immigrants rights activists. And PRS Tovia Smith joins us now from Boston. Good morning, Tovia.

Good morning. So what do we know about the court's reasoning here? Actually not much because the justices did not explain their reasoning at all in their order and that's not uncommon in an emergency request like this, but the court's three liberal justices dissented and they wrote 19 pages about their reasoning, so I can tell you they have concerns about due process and they worry that this decision basically rewards lawlessness as they put it. They say the Trump administration quote, openly flouted court orders regarding deportations and it quote, has made clear that it feels unconstrained

by law, free to deport anyone anywhere without notice or an opportunity to be heard. And I'll just add a federal judge in Boston, Brian Murphy, who was appointed by former President Biden, he suggested in his case the government's behavior might amount to criminal obstruction. Okay. So we know a lot about why the three justices dissented. What kind of reaction to this decision have you heard from outside the court? Well, as you alluded to, a lot of concern from immigrant rights groups,

one called the ruling disastrous, saying that thousands of migrants could now be sent to countries where they might be at risk of torture or inhumane treatment without a chance to challenge their deportation ahead of time. I also spoke to one of the lawyers who started this case, Anwen Hughes. She represented eight men who were being deported to South Sudan, a country they had no ties to. And she argued they were denied their due process.

Now she says she's worried for many more. The risks of harm that people face are extreme. I mean, they include torture, they include death. That harm cannot be undone and I mean it's terrifying frankly. So what does the Trump administration say to that? Well they argue that it's what they call activist judges who are overstepping what's lawful by imposing what they call onerous requirements that infringe on the president's authority. The Department of Homeland Security hailed yesterday's Supreme Court order as a victory

for their efforts to remove the, quote, worst of the worst undocumented immigrants. In a social media post, DHS said the people being deported are, quote, convicted murderers, child rapists, and drug traffickers. So uniquely barbaric, DHS says that their own countries won't take them back. DHS ends its post saying, quote, fire up the deportation planes. Now, this isn't the end of this legal dispute, right, Tovia? What happens now? That's right.

Even though this order came from the Supreme Court, it's not the last word here. The underlying issue of what is adequate due process for deportees is now pending in a federal appeals court. Yesterday's Supreme Court order is just about what happens in the meantime. And I'll note this does not really change things for the eight migrants whose deportation started this case, the ones who were going to be sent to South Sudan but were diverted to Djibouti and East Africa. The first few of them are now being given their due process by remote hearing from Djibouti. Judge Murphy from Boston ordered that saying since DHS failed to do it before the deportations, DHS needs to do it now. And last night, Judge Murphy made clear that order still stands.

So bottom line for those men, their due process rights appear more secure, at least right now, than they are for others who may face deportation in the future. On PR's Tovia Smith, thank you for your reporting, Tovia. Thank you. New Yorkers are heading to the polls today to vote in the Democratic mayoral primary. There's a crowded field on the Democratic side with the winner likely to become mayor of the country's largest city.

Joining us now to explain what's at stake is NPR's Sarah Ventry in New York. Hi, Sarah. Sarah Ventry Hi. Beth Dombkowski Okay, so Sarah, this is a primary, but today's election could actually determine the city's next mayor, right? Sarah Ventry Yes. So there's only one Republican candidate this year, and New York City is heavily Democratic.

So whoever wins today's primary will go up against that one Republican candidate and current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat and is now running as an independent. Now, even though he's still in office, in September, Eric Adams became the first sitting New York City mayor to face criminal charges, including bribery and fraud. He denied those corruption charges and they were dismissed by a federal judge. But his popularity has plummeted as a result.

So these Democratic candidates are front and center. There are a total of 11. And the two most talked about are current member of the New York State Assembly, so Ron Mamdani and former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo. Now you might remember that Cuomo resigned as governor following sexual harassment allegations, which he denied. And it was uncovered that his administration undercounted the number of COVID deaths in state run nursing homes by as much as 50%. He has also denied that.

Okay. So a lot of backstory there. Looking ahead, what are the issues that are coming up in this campaign? Well, affordability is a big one, especially housing and the cost of living in New York. Also, public safety and education. Cuomo is campaigning as a centrist and Mamdani is much more progressive. He's a democratic socialist. Okay and in New York the voting is ranked choice. How does that work if you could explain it Sarah? Okay Leila so this is New York so just imagine for a second you're ordering a bagel. Okay. It's like telling the guy behind the counter I want in everything but if you don't have that I'll take a poppy and if you don't have that I'll take a sesame. Same mayor. You get to choose your top five candidates in order.

The votes are counted and if one candidate has more than 50% of the vote, that person wins. If not, the candidate in last place is removed and the votes are counted again. So if your everything bagel was eliminated, then your vote gets redistributed to your second choice, the poppy. And this continues until there are only two candidates left. At that point, the one with the most votes wins. Okay, so people are hoping they'll get the bagel they like. How does this change campaigning? Well, it means there's an interesting twist where it can actually be strategic for candidates

to endorse one another as a way to try to knock someone else out of the rankings. So for example, Zeran Mamdani cross endorsed two other candidates, including Brad Lander. Here's a clip of them endorsing each other. Zoran, you've done a remarkable job building a historic grassroots campaign for a New York City all New Yorkers can afford. Brad, you've been a principled progressive leader

in our city for years. So that is not something you hear very often on the campaign trail, but together, they are hoping that they can overpower Cuomo. NPR's Sarah Ventry in New York. Thank you, Sarah. Thanks, Leila. And that's a first for Tuesday, June 24th. I'm Leila Fadl. And I'm Michelle Martin. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR. We here at Up First give you the three big stories of the day. Our Consider This colleagues take a different approach.

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