Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. The USS George Washington is heading to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for nearly nine months. Families of the sailors are decrying the conditions on board, particularly regarding mental health issues and a shortage of fresh food and supplies.
Some condemned President Trump's recent comments saying that the ship had not been deployed "nearly long enough." Democrats are calling for the Pentagon to investigate the conditions. NPR has discovered that these problems extend beyond just the USS Lincoln. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, heads to federal court tomorrow in a landmark case on children and social media addiction.
Four states have accused the company of designing its social media platform to hook children, prioritizing engagement over user safety, misleading the public about the associated risks and illegally gathering data on minors. They're seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties and product changes under consumer protection laws they claim Meta violated. In a statement emailed to NPR, a spokesperson for Meta said that the states' claims are limited and unsubstantiated and that the financial demands are "vastly disproportionate." This case adds to a growing wave of lawsuits aimed at holding social media companies accountable for their product designs.
Jared Kushner, Trump's envoy and son-in-law, is in Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a rare meeting with Hamas leaders in Egypt yesterday. Kushner met with Hamas to help secure a Gaza ceasefire 10 months ago, but the ceasefire has been shaky and has seen little progress. During this visit with Netanyahu, Kushner is expected to try to advance Trump's plan for a postwar Gaza, which has support from the U.S. and Hamas but not from Israel.
Ukraine yesterday launched its largest single-day attack on Russia to date. On Sunday, Ukraine fired more than 800 drones at more than a dozen regions, primarily targeting Moscow, according to Russia's defense minister. At least 20 people have died, and dozens more have been injured as Russia and Ukraine ramped up air attacks over the weekend into this morning.
Grammy- and Oscar-winning pianist Jon Batiste recently released three new albums all at once. In them, he draws from his early years as a classical piano student and his subsequent jazz studies at Juilliard to share his takes on Beethoven and Thelonious Monk. Black Mozart, Monk Meditations and Monk Movements are all part of a series he began in 2024 with Beethoven Blues, where he improvised on works such as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and introduced original pieces such as "Life of Ludwig." In a conversation with Morning Edition's Michel Martin, Batiste describes the music as "a great conversation across hundreds of years." Listen to snippets from his new albums and read more about his musical influences, from New Orleans Jazz to video games.
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