Up First from NPR
Iran Talks And Strikes, Senate Opportunities For Democrats, Ebola Outbreak Epicenter
28 May 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The U.S., Iran, and Israel keep opening fire in a regional war that was supposed to have stopped.
Chapter 2: What are the latest developments in the Iran conflict?
President Trump is still pursuing peace and throws in a passing threat against Oman. At what point would we say the war is back on?
I'm your Tinez, that is Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. A U.S.
Chapter 3: How is the U.S. responding to Iran's military actions?
Senate race in Texas went from safely Republican to uncertain.
Chapter 4: What opportunities do Democrats have in the Texas Senate race?
Republicans nominated the scandal-plagued state attorney general. They overwhelmingly rejected the incumbent senator who had easily won the seat in the past. What does that mean for the party's chances of keeping control of the Senate?
Chapter 5: What challenges do Republicans face in the Texas Senate election?
Also, the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is getting worse.
Chapter 6: How is the Ebola outbreak affecting Eastern Congo?
What is life like in the city of almost a million people that's at the center of the outbreak? Stay with us.
Chapter 7: What urgent needs are identified in the Ebola response?
We've got the news you need to start your day.
Chapter 8: How are neighboring countries reacting to the Ebola outbreak?
New shows, new music, new movies. Keeping up with pop culture sometimes feels like a full-time job. Thankfully, over at Pop Culture Happy Hour, it's literally our job. We break down what's actually worth watching, listening to, and pretending you already knew about. So the next time someone says, did you see that? You can say, yeah, obviously.
Follow NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts.
At what point would we say the Iran war is back on? Peace talks continue between the U.S. and Iran, but so do exchanges of fire. We're tracking attacks spanning from Lebanon to the Strait of Hormuz and even in Gaza, where despite a ceasefire there, Israeli attacks have been intensifying.
NPR international correspondent Aya Batraoui is following all of this from Dubai. Hi there.
Hey, good morning.
Let's start with the situation in the Gulf. What's happening?
All right. The U.S. says its forces shot down Iranian drones around the Strait of Hormuz and that they struck an area along Iran's coast overnight. That's according to a U.S. official who spoke with NPR. Now, this morning, Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it responded to that U.S. attack on Bandar Abbas by targeting, quote, the American base from which that attack originated.
And Kuwait this morning says it intercepted drones. So it appears Iran's attack was on U.S. positions there. Also, the Revolutionary Guard says it fired at an American commercial vessel trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz yesterday and forced it to turn around. But Steve, as you said, all this is happening alongside an effort by both sides to permanently end the war.
Yeah, although Israel, the U.S. ally here, has insisted it does not favor making a deal with Iran and also that regardless of any deal, it wants to continue its war in Lebanon, this other front. What is happening there?
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