Michelle Martin

Thanks to the NPR News team for sharing audio for this episode. Our supervising producer is Leanna Simstrom and Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. I'm Rachel Martin. Up first, we'll be back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.

I'm Michelle Martin, that's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. Russia's army has lost thousands of soldiers trying to capture a single Ukrainian town. Ukraine's army has defended against superior numbers and swarms of drones. We will listen as one of those drones is shot down.

It's been a busy week, but that didn't get done, so let's review. Lawmakers were on track for a bipartisan bill to manage the next few months, While a new administration takes charge, it added disaster assistance, farm subsidies, and some money for health care programs. Then, Elon Musk, the world's richest man, demanded that Congress kill the deal.

President-elect Trump followed the lead of his close advisor, telling Republicans to turn against their plan. House Speaker Mike Johnson came up with a plan B, and that failed last night.

The city is called Pokrovsk. It's not very large, but it's a transportation hub and a coal mining center. An independent estimate finds Russia's army has sacrificed more than 3,000 soldiers, killed and wounded, trying to capture it, so far without success.

Yes, they've set up an interim government since Syria's military collapsed and President Bashar al-Assad fled. Many people celebrated Assad's defeat and then waited to see what the rebel group known as HTS would do differently. Their challenge is to govern a devastated country with many ethnic and religious groups.

I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm Michelle Martin. We here at Up First give you the three big stories of the day. Our Consider This colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you in just 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

TikTok's American future is now up to the Supreme Court. The Chinese-owned company wants the high court to stop a ban of the app from taking effect next month. What does this mean for the tens of millions of TikTok users?

7,000 Syrian refugees have been living in a makeshift camp on the Jordanian border for the past nine years. Now, after the fall of the Assad regime, most of them want to go home, but what will wait for them there? And Pierce, Jane Araf is one of the first journalists to have visited the campsite.

And parents Bobby Allen is with us to talk about what this could mean. Good morning, Bobby.

So why is the Supreme Court stepping in?

So it's TikTok's argument that this ban violates Americans' free speech rights?

OK, so what could this mean for the tens of millions of Americans who use TikTok? I mean, some people use it every day.

There's already a lot changing in Syria now that dictator Bashar al-Assad is gone.

NPR's Jane Araf has been traveling the country, and she's with us on the line now from Damascus. Good morning, Jane. Good morning, Michelle. So as we said, you've been traveling around Syria this past week. Tell us some of what you found.

Now, you've also been following what's happening with Syrian Kurdish forces and Syrian Arab forces. The U.S. has been trying to broker a truce there. What did you find out about this?

No, conflict's still simmering, it seems like. Absolutely. That is NPR's Jane Raff talking with us from Damascus. Jane, thank you. Thank you. Verdicts this morning have been handed down in a high-profile rape trial in the south of France.

And Paris Eleanor Beardsley is at the courthouse now. We're going to go to her in Avignon. Eleanor, good morning. Good morning, Michelle. Could you just start by reminding us who the accused are and, of course, tell us the verdicts?

So tell us more. We can hear that there's a hubbub there. Tell us about the scene there at the courthouse.

Say more, if you would, about the impact of this trial, which is, as Steve pointed out, has just, I mean, it's shaken the country to its core. And, I mean, it's attracted attention all over the world.