Up First from NPR

Mass Arrests at Columbia, Blinken's Mideast Visit, Florida's New Abortion Law

New York City police used force overnight to zip-tie the hands of dozens of Columbia University student protesters and haul them away in buses, clearing the encampment two weeks after tents first popped up. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in Israel to pressing for more aid to Palestinians in Gaza — and a hostage deal. And Florida's six-week abortion ban takes effect today — with exceptions only in rare circumstances. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? <a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/news">Subscribe</a> to the Up First newsletter. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Kevin Drew, Vincent Ni, Acacia Squires, 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. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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 at 6:30 a.m. ET, with hosts Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin and A Martinez. Also available on Saturdays at 9 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. Support NPR's reporting by subscribing to Up First+ and unlock sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/upfirst