August 25, 2026

Brittney Melton

up first newsletter writer

Good morning. Many wildfire evacuees have been allowed to return to Spokane, Wash., weeks after some of the worst blazes in the state's history. But there are still questions about whether it's safe yet. Here's the news we're following today:

Today’s top stories

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stands at a podium wearing a blue suit, a white collared shirt and a matching blue tie and speaks.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent yesterday announced new U.S. economic sanctions on Iran and what he called "its enablers." The Trump administration has referred to the initiative as an "economic D-Day," and Bessent has described the actions as an "economic onslaught" targeting Iran's global financial connections. The Treasury says it has identified networks, facilitators and financial channels that support Iran. The U.S. says it will allow countries time to change their ways before taking action. Here's what this new round of sanctions could mean after nearly six months of war with Iran — and whether this economic war can do what airstrikes and negotiations couldn't.

🎧 NPR's Michele Kelemen tells Up First that the U.S. wants to make Iran's choices clear: Face economic isolation or return to normalcy. Bessent is warning countries that the U.S. is aware of Iran's methods to evade sanctions and says no entity is beyond the reach of U.S. sanctions. Kelemen says the Trump administration appears to be counting on a regime change to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. In a message to Iranian soldiers, Bessent asked them to consider whether their commanding officers were leading their country to "triumph or ruin."

🎧 The United Arab Emirates was among the first to announce it would cut off commercial trade ties with Iran, but reactions from other Gulf allies have so far been muted, NPR's Aya Batrawy says. She adds that the U.S. will need more countries to align with Trump's measures against Iran, because the president wants to crush — not just cripple — its revenue. China is the most consequential country as it is the largest importer of Iranian oil. China's foreign ministry condemned the latest U.S. measures, calling them "illicit unilateral sanctions without international legal basis." Iran's Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh last night dismissed the U.S. actions, saying that Iran has been preparing for this and has a two-year plan to manage the consequences.

The Supreme Court has given Trump a temporary win in his efforts to restrict mail-in voting. Justices on Monday paused a lower court's ruling that blocked key parts of an executive order Trump issued in March calling for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to people on lists of U.S. citizens. The lower court's ruling applied to 23 mainly Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., that sued the administration. With midterm elections just weeks away, the U.S. Postal Service and other federal agencies will face challenges implementing Trump's directives.

🎧 The fight over mail-in voting is not over, NPR's Hansi Lo Wang says. The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether Trump's order is legal. The Justices only ruled that a Boston judge acted prematurely in June by concluding that Trump's directives exceeded presidential authority under the Constitution. Trump has said he issued his order to prevent illegal voting by non-U.S. citizens, despite numerous studies indicating that such incidents are incredibly rare. Colorado's Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold tells Lo Wang that there's real concern this order could create chaos for the midterms.

Department of Homeland Security agents secretly recorded meetings held at churches, libraries, restaurants and schools across the Twin Cities during a surge in federal immigration enforcement last winter, according to government documents. The revelation was part of a motion filed in federal court as part of an ongoing conspiracy case against ICE protesters. Agents also infiltrated private group chats and gathered information on community members. Critics argue that while the Fourth Amendment grants the federal government broad authority to gather information, these tactics raise ethical concerns.

Local stories from WAMU 88.5 (edit station)

National Guard members gather near a large portrait of President Donald Trump on the Labor Department headquarters before the body of Metropolitan Police Department officer Terry Bennett is driven past the Capitol, Jan. 8, 2026, in Washington.

AP Photo, File/Mark Schiefelbein

WAMU's Week Ahead: National Guard's crime impact, check in on SNAP recipients and a book drive for childhood cancer

This week WAMU will be checking in on a new report about the National Guard's involvement in enforcing crimes in D.C.. We'll also hear how one Maryland family is navigating their SNAP benefits and about one woman's drive to flood D.C. area hospitals with books ahead of Children's Cancer Awareness Month.

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Living better

An illustration of a man running on a treadmill and a woman on a Peloton-style bike wearing sportswear working out in a gym.

Jesussanz/Getty Images

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

High-intensity interval training (HIIT), such as sprinting at full speed, may unlock unique benefits for your body, new research finds. The training triggers a strong response in the bloodstream, increasing the mobilization of proteins and molecules in the hours following exercise. This doesn't mean that this form of workout is superior to steady-paced exercise options. Here's what else the study revealed:

🏃‍♀️ Fat cells responded differently when exposed to blood collected from participants who completed a HIIT workout. Some changes involved genes that regulate fat and whole-body metabolism.
🏃‍♀️ HIIT offers benefits with a short time investment. Just two sprints a day, totaling under 40 seconds, can improve your VO₂ max — a key measure of cardiorespiratory fitness — within two months.
🏃‍♀️ HIIT may not suit everyone. The study focused on young, fit, predominantly male participants, which limits its applicability to older or less conditioned groups.

Picture show

Several race cars zoom down the street for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar Series race in front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Nathan Howard/Reuters

This past weekend, racecar drivers sped through the nation’s capital for the first time at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. The race track featured some of the nation’s most iconic landmarks along Pennsylvania, Constitution and Independence Avenues. Tens of thousands of people packed the National Mall for the two-day event. Before the race started, the president and first lady Melania Trump took a ceremonial lap in their armored car, nicknamed "The Beast." See photos of the action at Washington, D.C.’s inaugural IndyCar race.

3 things to know before you go

A view outside Madison Square Garden from Seventh Avenue in New York with vehicles driving down the street.

Evan Agostini/AP Photo

1

New York City police are investigating after a video posted on social media captured another group of people emerging from a manhole. (via Gothamist)

2

A recent drug bust at Penn State University linked to an alleged cocaine ring has drawn national attention to drug use on college campuses. But research shows that alcohol poses a greater risk to students.

3

At least 25% of former NFL players who participated in at least one game during their careers and died between 2016 and 2021 were found to have CTE upon their death, according to a new study from researchers at Mass General Brigham.