April 13, 2026

Brittney Melton

up first newsletter writer

Good morning. After a two-week recess, Congress returns to Washington today with a lengthy to-do list. Here’s the news we’re following today:

Today’s top stories

A cargo ship carrying vehicles sails through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz in the United Arab Emirates.

President Trump announced yesterday that the U.S. will impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports. The U.S. military's Central Command said that a blockade on ships traveling to or from Iran will start today at 10 a.m. ET. The decision came just hours after U.S.-Iran peace talks failed to produce a breakthrough. When asked about the key issue that led to the negotiation breakdown, Vice President Vance said: "The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon."

🎧 Iran is using the Strait of Hormuz's closure to its advantage, frustrating Trump and pushing global oil prices higher, NPR’s Greg Myre tells Up First. While some oil still flows from Iran, the country charges foreign ships up to $2 million to pass through the crucial waterway. The Trump administration's blockade doesn't improve prospects for potential peace talks. Myre says Trump appears to hope the increased pressure will force Iran to make concessions, while Iran seems to feel it is in a pretty strong negotiating position, as it has withstood weeks of heavy U.S. and Israeli bombing.

🎧 Trump's blockade announcement is threatening an already shaky ceasefire. Violence continues in Lebanon, where Israeli forces are targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters. Lebanese authorities say there have been more than 100 fatalities, including a Red Cross paramedic, during this weekend's attacks. Hezbollah held a rally this weekend that filled several city blocks in Beirut, according to NPR’s Lauren Frayer. While some Lebanese people support Hezbollah, some also blame the group for dragging them into yet another war. Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors are set to have ceasefire talks in Washington tomorrow. It will be the first direct government-to-government talks between the two countries since 1983.

➡️ In a 40-minute interview, a wounded Hezbollah commander gave NPR a rare glimpse into the militant group's capabilities, new command structure and fresh tactics for evading Israeli surveillance.

Hungary's Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat to his challenger, 45-year-old conservative Péter Magyar, ending 16 years in power. Voters turned out in the highest numbers since the fall of communism in the 1990s to reject Orbán's Fidesz party. Just days ago, Trump, an ally of Orban’s, sent Vance to Budapest to try to give the Hungarian prime minister an electoral boost. Despite these efforts, Magyar and his center-right Tisza Party won by a landslide.

🎧 Orban's defeat has paved the way for Magyar and his party to seize more than two-thirds of the seats in the Hungarian parliament, NPR's Rob Schnitz says. This supermajority will allow Magyar to advance his agenda of redemocratizing Hungary and rolling back Orbán's changes to Hungary's constitution. Although Hungary is a small nation of just 9 million, it wields significant power and influence in Europe. Under Orban's leadership, Hungary leveraged its European Union membership to block around $100 billion in aid to Ukraine. The country also vetoed budgets and harsh penalties on Russia.

➡️ Critics have long accused Orbán of corruption. Now, sightseers are flocking to his hometown. Groups are actively raising awareness about what they say are the leader's excesses.

New data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services show significant fluctuations in naturalization applications in 2025 and a drop in the number of people approved to become citizens. Immigration experts say the trends show how Trump's restrictive immigration policies, heightened deportation efforts and increased scrutiny have impacted people at the tail end of their legal immigration journey. The year began with high rates in citizenship applications submitted. By the end of 2025, fewer immigrants were applying to become citizens — and even fewer were granted access to this final milestone, according to the data.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell has suspended his campaign for governor of California amid allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. Four women gave accounts ranging from accusations of Swalwell assaulting them after they had been drinking to sending inappropriate photos, according to the reports in The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN. NPR hasn't independently confirmed these allegations. Some of these women were his employees, and the accusations spanned from 2019 to last year. Swalwell denies these accusations, but acknowledged that he "made mistakes in judgment in my past." He announced yesterday that he will fight these claims outside of his campaign. Swalwell was seen as a potential frontrunner in the crowded field of Democratic candidates vying with Republicans in a heated primary in June.

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America in pursuit

The late jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie plays a trumpet with his iconic puffed cheeks.

Files/AFP via Getty Images

250 years ago, the Declaration of Independence boldly heralded the birth of the United States of America — a new nation founded on the democratic promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. NPR's series America in Pursuit explores what that promise has meant and what it means today.

Dizzy Gillespie revolutionized jazz in the 1940s with his trumpet and iconic puffed-out cheeks, bringing in edgier, faster and more complex rhythms called bebop. The State Department enlisted him as a Cold War jazz ambassador. Despite facing racism at home, he was tasked with winning hearts abroad. In 1955, after performing to an integrated audience with Ella Fitzgerald in Houston, authorities arrested the two musicians on trumped-up gambling charges. Despite such challenges, Gillespie remained charming and playful onstage. Listen to more about Gillespie's influence.

Living better

A pattern of white toilet paper rolls on a yellow background.

DBenitostock/Moment RF/Getty Images

Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.

Forty percent of Americans experience uncomfortable bowel symptoms that interrupt their daily lives, according to the American Gastroenterological Association. But Dr. Trisha Pasricha says people on the other end of the spectrum experience what she calls "poophoria"—her term for a state of being in which doing your business is worry-free and painless. In her book You've Been Pooping All Wrong, Pasricha shares practices and habits that can smooth your relationship with your solid waste.

💩 Eat more fiber. It feeds the microbes in your colon that produce short-chain fatty acids, which reduce gut inflammation.
💩 Avoid spending more than five minutes on the toilet. Sitting suspended over the toilet bowl for too long can increase the risk of hemorrhoids.
💩 Take a movement break if you find yourself perched in the bathroom for more than five minutes without results.
💩 Steer away from foods with artificial sweeteners because they are known to cause diarrhea and bloating.

Curiosity didn’t go anywhere. It just got louder.

Every NPR story begins the same way: with a question.

Who?

How?

Why?

Before a producer’s finger taps ‘Record,’ before a journalist’s pen touches a notepad, someone like you notices something that doesn’t quite add up, or a change you can’t explain, and wants to understand it.

Below are recent NPR podcast episodes that started as burning questions. Maybe they’ll answer questions you had. Hopefully, they’ll inspire even more.

Because curiosity can’t be silenced, as long as we keep handing it a megaphone.

Why are groceries still so expensive?

How long will the world’s economy run on the dollar?

Why do I have nightmares?

Why was ICE created?

How does AI affect my electric bill?

Who can afford a starter home now?

3 things to know before you go

Four artist renderings and diagrams for President Trump's proposed triumphal arch released by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.

Jon Elswick/AP

1

Trump has unveiled official architectural renderings for the triumphal arch he plans to add to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The proposed monument would stand 250 feet tall.

2

Asha Bhosle, a Bollywood playback singer who gave voice to hundreds of movie characters, died yesterday at age 92.

3

Gen Z has a solution to help with doomscrolling: an analog bag. The bag, usually a canvas tote, is filled with screen-free activities to keep you away from your phone.