President Trump is deepening the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, despite the government coming under fire for human right abuses, despite the concerns the prince himself ordered the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Why is Saudi Arabia such an important ally for the United States?

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This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez and Karen Zamora.

It was edited by Jeanette Woods, Dana Farrington and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Ava Berger, with audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley. It was edited by Diane Webber and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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It's been six months since a tornado hit St. Louis and damaged more than five thousand buildings and homes.

Residents and local officials say the Trump administration's new policy on federal disaster assistance has meant they have been left to do the work traditionally done by FEMA.

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This episode was produced by Avery Keatley, in collaboration with Hiba Ahmad and Jason Rosenbaum from St. Louis Public Radio. It was edited by Sarah Robbins. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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At a recent gathering of Swiss business executives in the White House, the CEO of Rolex presented President Trump with a gold-plated desk clock.

The CEO of a precious-metals company presented the president with an engraved gold bar.

They were not the official representatives of Switzerland’s economic agenda – but the following week, their government announced a trade deal that drastically lowered the U.S. tariff on imported Swiss goods from 39 percent to 15 percent – now on par with the European Union.

So were the gifts appropriate for the U.S. president to accept?

We hear from University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter – formerly the chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush.

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This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam and Brianna Scott, with audio engineering from Simon Laslo-Jansson. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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A group of National Guard members in Ohio are using an encrypted group chat to work out how they're feeling as President Trump deploys Guard troops to several U.S. cities.

It’s become a place for existential questions about their service, careers…and country.

NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf flew to Ohio to meet some of them.

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This episode was produced by Vincent Acovino, Erika Ryan, and Connor Donevan with audio engineering by Simon-Laslo Janssen. It was edited by Alina Hartounian and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released emails to and from Jeffrey Epstein that suggest Donald Trump may have known about Epstein’s sex-abuse operations.

In one, Epstein writes that Trump “knew about the girls.”

The White House has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing by Trump or meaningful connection to Epstein’s alleged crimes, and downplayed the new revelations as part of a “fake narrative.”

But House Democrats are pressing for a vote on legislation to release more Epstein documents.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democratic member of the Oversight Committee, speaks on the latest developments.

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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Alejandra Marquez Janse. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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When John Fetterman won Pennsylvania's senate seat in 2022, Democrats across the country treated him as a hero and an example of a path forward for the party in the populist Trump era.

Three years later, he often finds himself at odds with his party – most recently, on the government shutdown, Israel, and working class voters.

He delves deeper into his political views and experiences in a new memoir out this week, titled Unfettered. In the book, he’s also deeply honest about his struggles with mental health.

“Honestly, I know millions of Americans suffer,” Fetterman told NPR. “And to really understand what [...] true deep depression is like [...] that's part of the conversation in the book.”

This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam with audio engineering from Andie Huether. It was edited by Ashley Brown and Nadia Lancy. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

You can also watch the full conversation between NPR’s Scott Detrow and Fetterman here.

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