About this episode

The episode discusses President Trump's nomination of Todd Blanche, tensions with Netanyahu, and the Russia Economic Forum amidst geopolitical issues.

President Trump says he'll nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to permanently lead the Department of Justice, even as his now-scrapped anti-weaponization fund continues to complicate a major immigration enforcement bill in Congress. President Trump confirms he cursed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called him crazy in a heated call that halted planned strikes on Beirut, exposing growing tension between the two longtime allies over the direction of the war. And Russia's political and business elite have gathered in St. Petersburg for President Putin's showcase economic forum, which Ukrainian drones struck just hours before it began. 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 Kelsey Snell, Tina Kraja, Tara Neill, Mohamad ElBardicy, and John Stolnis. It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens. (0:00) Introduction (02:01) Trump's Party Problems (05:53) Trump &…

Topics covered

• Trump's Party Problems
• US-Israel Relations
• Russia Economic Forum
• Immigration Enforcement
• International Tensions

Keywords

• Trump
• Netanyahu
• Russia
• Economic Forum
• Immigration
• Ukraine
• Beirut

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Department of Justice, NPR

Places: Beirut, St. Petersburg, Ukraine

More episodes of Up First from NPR

• Immigration Bill Passes, Trump's Grip On Republicans, John Bolton To Plead Guilty · June 5, 2026 · 13 min
• Primary Results, DOJ Scraps Anti-Weaponization Fund, Trump Appoints Acting DNI · June 3, 2026 · 13 min

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