Mitch McConnell has been described as "opaque," "drab," and even "dull." He is one of the least popular - and most polarizing - politicians in the country. So how did he win eight consecutive elections? And what does it tell us about how he operates? We're sharing a bonus episode of NPR's Embedded.

BONUS: Mitch Part 1: 'Win This Thing'

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The Biden administration is weighing how hard to push back on Israel's conduct of its war against Hamas. Stormy Daniels testifies in Donald Trump's New York trial about an affair that the then-presidential candidate is accused of covering up in 2016. And TikTok wants a federal court to throw out Congress's new "sell-or-be-banned" law.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Vincent Ni, Dana Farrington, Kevin Drew, Lisa Thomson, Alice Woelfle and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Kaity Kline. We get engineering support from Hannah Gluvna. And our technical director is Stacey Abbott.

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Israel-Rafah Latest, Stormy Daniels Testifies, TikTok Sues U.S.

After seven months of war and nearly 35,000 deaths, a pause in the fighting in Gaza seemed in sight — and then it wasn't.
Russian President Vladimir Putin takes his fifth oath of office, which if he serves the full term would give him a longer tenure than Joseph Stalin. And the House could vote on another motion to oust a Republican speaker — but this time, Democrats might save Mike Johnson.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Vincent Ni, Nick Spicer, Kelsey Snell, Lisa Thomson, Alice Woelfle and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Kaity Kline. We get engineering support from Phil Edfors. And our technical director is Stacey Abbott.

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The Gaza Ceasefire That Wasn't, Putin's Fifth Inauguration, House Speaker Vote?

The Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas appear to have hit a roadblock. China's president heads to France for a state dinner — hoping to drive a wedge between Europe and America. Boeing is hoping it has better success in space than it's lately had inside the atmosphere.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Vincent Ni, Nick Spicer, Russell Lewis, Lisa Thomson, Elana Perl and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Kaity Kline. We get engineering support from Phil Edfors. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

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Gaza Ceasefire Talks Stall, Xi In Europe, Boeing Starliner Launch

In recent years, high profile cases of police brutality across the U.S. have brought increased attention and scrutiny to police misconduct and use of force incidents. When something happens, the police often say "we're investigating." But what's really being done to ensure police are held accountable for their actions?

Sukey Lewis is a criminal justice reporter at KQED. As part of the multi-newsroom California Reporting Project, she has spent years obtaining previously-sealed police internal affairs records, to find out what happens when law enforcement agencies investigate themselves.

In this episode of The Sunday Story, host Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Lewis about the new season of her podcast, On Our Watch, which focuses on correctional officers. Lewis talks about her reporting on New Folsom, one of the most dangerous prisons in California. And she shares the stories of two whistleblowers who worked as correctional officers within the prison and ultimately died while fighting to expose its secrets.

You can listen to all eight episodes of season 2 of On Our Watch at kqed.org/onourwatch.

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The Sunday Story: Breaking a Prison's Code of Silence

Second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money criminal case has ended. It dug up a world of information brokers, tabloids and a secret exchange of money. Closing arguments in the U.S. government's case against Google wrapped up this week. It accuses the tech company of being an illegal monopoly. Experts in disease prevention have new recommendations for when women should start getting mammograms.

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BONUS: Mitch Part 1: 'Win This Thing'

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