Up First from NPR
Trump Weighs Options In Iran, Minnesota Sues DHS, SCOTUS Trans Sports Cases
13 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
President Trump says he's considering military strikes on Iran as its crackdown on protests kills hundreds.
Chapter 2: What options is Trump considering in response to the protests in Iran?
Iran wants to negotiate. Is the pressure campaign headed toward diplomacy or confrontation? I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Minnesota is suing the Trump administration over its immigration operations after an ICE agent killed Renee Macklin Good.
Chapter 3: How has the situation escalated in Iran amidst the protests?
We asked the courts to end the DHS unlawful behavior in our state. The intimidation, the threats, the violence.
Are ICE operations in Minneapolis escalating? Also today, the Supreme Court considers two challenges to state laws. The rules prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls' sports. Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day.
President Trump continues to threaten military action against Iran and says he is receiving hourly reports on the violence against protesters as Iranian security forces try to quash growing unrest.
A U.S.-based group called the Human Rights Activists News Agency has tried to track the casualties, which is hard given an Internet blackout. But the agency says more than 600 Iranians have been killed so far. That number includes nine children and 133 members of the military and police. After threatening to take military action, Trump says he's heard a response.
The leaders of Iran, well, they want to negotiate. I think they're tired of being beat up by the United States.
Trump said Monday he's imposing a 25 percent tariff on countries doing business with Iran.
NPR White House correspondent Franco Ardoñez is following this, and he's with us now to bring us up to date. Good morning, Franco.
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Chapter 4: What allegations are made in Minnesota's lawsuit against the Trump administration?
Good morning, Michelle.
So the president says a meeting is in the works with Iranian officials. What can you tell us about that?
You know, I think we should remember that Trump warned last week that the U.S. was, quote, locked and loaded and would come to the protesters' rescue if they continued to be killed. Trump says Iran's leadership called after those threats, as you guys mentioned, and his team is working on a meeting. But he also said they might have to act sooner if the violence continues.
Trump's expected to meet with his national security team today.
How seriously is the U.S. taking threats from Tehran to retaliate against U.S. or Israeli military bases?
Well, Trump says if they do, the U.S. will respond.
If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they've never been hit before. They won't even believe it.
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Chapter 5: How are ICE operations affecting the community in Minneapolis?
I have options that are so strong.
And Caroline Levitt, the press secretary, called Iran's threats laughable. She said on Fox News yesterday that the Iranians may be talking a big game publicly, but they're saying something very different privately.
So the president spoke of options. What are those options?
Yeah, Trump and Levitt won't forecast what they're going to do, but Matthew Koenig worked on the Iranian file at the Pentagon, and he told me the lowest hanging fruit would be a strike on Iran's missile program. Another possibility, he said, would be strikes against the security services who are leading the crackdown on demonstrations. And Koenig also pointed to the Venezuela operation.
And then finally, after the Maduro raid, you can't count out something more creative, some kind of special operations operation. move by the United States or Israel, say, directly against the Iranian leadership.
Training says it's not something you'd expect from a U.S. president, but Trump doesn't seem to be constrained by traditional norms.
Well, you know, to that end, though, the president hasn't made human rights a priority in his foreign policy, except in very rare circumstances. So tell us a little bit more about what kind of deal and what kind of negotiations the president seems to be pursuing.
Yeah, he's definitely not put human rights first and foremost.
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Chapter 6: What arguments are being made in the Supreme Court cases regarding transgender athletes?
But we should remember that during the first Trump administration, Trump did order military strikes on Syria in response to chemical attacks by the Assad regime. Trump said he was moved at the time by the images of choking children. That said, what Trump really wants in Iran is a deal that permanently prevents the government from getting a nuclear weapon.
And Koenig, who is now at the Atlantic Council... thinks the Iranian Supreme Leader may actually be willing to agree to a zero-enrichment deal if he thinks it will help the regime survive. The next question, though, will be, of course, does the regime actually follow through with that going forward in the future?
That is White House correspondent Franco Ardenas. Franco, thank you.
Thank you, Michelle.
Minnesota officials are suing the Trump administration trying to end the surge of immigration agents to the state.
The state filed the lawsuit on Monday, and many people will know the context here. This is less than a week after an immigration and customs enforcement agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Macklin Good.
NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran is reporting from Minneapolis, and he's with us now. Good morning, Sergio.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of state laws banning transgender participation in sports?
Hey, Michelle.
So what can you tell us about some of the allegations in this lawsuit?
Yes, state officials say that during this federal search, federal immigration agents have arrested peaceful bystanders, that they've detained U.S. citizens and fired chemical irritants at demonstrators and others exercising their First Amendment rights. The lawsuit also alleges agents have racially profiled people. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says all of this is unconstitutional.
We ask that the courts will end the surge of thousands of DHS agents into Minnesota. We ask the courts to end the DHS unlawful behavior in our state, the intimidation, the threats, the violence.
Now, the Trump administration is pushing back on these allegations. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused Ellison of prioritizing politics over public safety and called the allegations of racial profiling false, saying, quote, law enforcement uses reasonable suspicion to make arrests as protected under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Sergio, you've been out there and you've also reported on immigration enforcement actions elsewhere in the country. So what's standing out to you about the situation in Minneapolis?
There are more than 2,000 federal agents in the state. So there's a lot of immigration enforcement activity, especially in the Minneapolis area.
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Chapter 8: How does public opinion influence the debate on transgender athletes in sports?
Yesterday, Michelle, I witnessed multiple instances where immigration officers questioned people about their immigration status, and it didn't seem like a targeted operation. I saw them briefly detain a man despite him telling them he was a citizen. In another instance, agents questioned drivers who were charging their electric cars in a parking lot. Joel Kilika is a permanent U.S.
resident and he showed proof of it to agents. I talked to him afterwards and this is what he told me.
We don't want this to escalate, as you're seeing, you know, how it's going right now. People are getting killed. Yeah, so we just got to do our best out here to make sure that we live to see tomorrow, you know what I mean? Yeah.
In a statement, the DHS spokesperson says ICE does not randomly arrest people or conduct operations without specific objectives, but it's unclear why immigration agents chose to question Kilikai and the others who were charging their vehicles. They were people of color, and all of them produced documentation that showed they are in the U.S. legally.
What are you following in the next couple of days? Again, Michel, the way these immigration enforcement actions are being carried out is something to watch for. Another thing that's clear, many people in Minneapolis do not want ICE around. And it's starting to seem like residents are more defiant, willing to protest more.
We've already seen federal agents use pepper spray and tear gas to call some of these protests. So the escalation in enforcement and protests is something I'll be paying attention to.
That is. And for Sergio Martinez Beltran in Minneapolis. Sergio, thank you.
You're welcome.
The Supreme Court returns to questions about gender and fairness today.
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