There's a big storm headed for Puerto Rico, yet the Trump administration says it wants to divert money away from disaster relief to border enforcement operations. Why would the administration redirect FEMA funds at the peak of hurricane season? It's been two years since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, and the island is still recovering. Is the government there prepared for another storm? Plus, North Carolina sues e-cigarette companies for allegedly marketing directly to kids. Do the rules against Big Tobacco apply to e-cigarette companies?

Wednesday, August 28th, 2019

NPR's Up First is the news you need to start your day. The three biggest stories of the day, with reporting and analysis from NPR News — in 10 minutes. Available weekdays by 6 a.m. ET, with hosts Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin and A Martinez. Also available on Saturdays by 8 a.m. ET, with Ayesha Rascoe and Scott Simon. On Sundays, hear a longer exploration behind the headlines with Ayesha Rascoe on "The Sunday Story," available by 8 a.m. ET. Subscribe and listen, then support your local NPR station at donate.npr.org.

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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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Trump Hush Money Trial, Google Monopoly Case, Mammogram Recommendations

After more than a week of silence, President Biden addressed the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses Thursday seeking a balanced approach to a divisive issue. "Google" has been its own verb for years now, which the federal government argues is illegal. (The search engine, that is — not the verb itself.) And protests are engulfing the former Soviet republic of Georgia over a proposed "foreign agents law" that could move the country away from the west and toward Russia.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Gabriel Spitzer, Nick Spicer, Elana Perl and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Lilly Quiroz. We get engineering support from Carleigh Strange, and our technical director is Zac Coleman. Our executive producer is Erika Aguilar.

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Biden Speaks On Protests, Google's Antitrust Trial, Russian Neighbor's Protests

Arizona lawmakers have repealed a Civil War-era law that bans nearly all abortions. The police clearing pro-Palestinian encampments on college campuses are doing their jobs under intense scrutiny. And Donald Trump's New York criminal trial takes Wednesdays off, so he spent the day campaigning in two swing states.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Gigi Douban, Larry Kaplow, Megan Pratz, Elana Perl Lisa Thomson and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Lilly Quiroz. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott, and our technical director is Zac Coleman.

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Wednesday, August 28th, 2019

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