Good morning. You are studying the Up First publication. Subscribe right here to get it delivered to your inbox, and pay attention to the Up First podcast for all of the information you want to begin your day.
Immediately’s prime tales
Newly launched transcripts by Bloomberg present U.S. particular envoy Steve Witkoff coached a Russian adviser on how you can pitch a Ukraine peace deal to President Trump. The transcripts had been launched simply as Trump’s peace plan seems to be making headway. Throughout the telephone name, Witkoff allegedly advises Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s international coverage adviser, on how you can handle Trump. The information outlet says the recording is from a name in mid-October, proper after Trump sanctioned Russia’s two largest oil corporations. NPR has not independently verified the contents of the transcript.
U.S. Particular Envoy to the Center East Steve Witkoff seems on throughout a gathering with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Trump and members of his Cupboard on the White Home on Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Pictures
disguise caption
toggle caption
Andrew Harnik/Getty Pictures
- 🎧 NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley tells Up First she spoke with Ukrainian parliament member and chair of the international affairs committee Oleksandr Merezhko, who says he isn’t shocked by this improvement. Merezhko referred to as for Witkoff’s alternative six months in the past, citing incompetence and lack of awareness concerning Ukraine and the origins of the battle. Merezhko says that Ukrainians know they’re coping with folks in Trump’s entourage who take Russia’s aspect, however they must take care of them no matter who they’re.
- 🎧 Trump stays targeted on ending the battle in Ukraine and is sending prime aides to each Moscow and Kyiv to work via variations in his newest peace plan. NPR’s Franco Ordoñez reviews that Ukraine and Russia are not essentially nearer to reaching a deal, although the 2 international locations are exchanging concepts on how you can finish the battle with the U.S. Trump appears to point out real curiosity within the lack of life, particularly youngsters, however Ordoñez believes that the president’s quest for a Nobel Peace Prize might be a partial motivation for ending the battle.
Federal regulators say the U.S. aviation system is again to regular after the federal government shutdown, simply in time for the tens of millions of Individuals who’re anticipated to fly for the Thanksgiving vacation. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed a brand new civility marketing campaign this week referred to as “The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You,” urging vacationers to respect airport and airline workers.
- 🎧 Critics of the administration say the marketing campaign locations loads of stress on passengers whereas permitting airways to evade duties for making flying much less civil. NPR’s Joel Rose says folks heading to the airport ought to count on massive crowds. The Federal Aviation Administration says this might be the busiest Thanksgiving in 15 years.
Louisiana’s surgeon normal, Dr. Ralph Abraham, who has referred to as COVID vaccines “dangerous,” will turn into the principal deputy director on the CDC, making him the second-highest-ranking official. The place has been vacant since Dr. Nirav Shah, who served underneath the Biden administration, stepped down in February. Abraham has been a vocal supporter of Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and has even beforehand supported investigating the debunked hyperlink between vaccines and autism. The hyperlink between the 2 is a matter the CDC not too long ago revived. Here is what else we learn about him.
Deep dive
White spherical drugs in orange bottle on blue background banner shut up with copy area
neirfy/iStockphoto/Getty Pictures
disguise caption
toggle caption
neirfy/iStockphoto/Getty Pictures
Drugmakers have created capsule variations of GLP-1 medicines designed to deal with weight problems, providing a possible different to injectable medication. Whereas the Meals and Drug Administration has not but authorized these medicines, the company is anticipated to approve the primary capsule by the top of the yr. Here is what it’s best to learn about the brand new remedy:
- 💊 The FDA is anticipated to approve Novo Nordisk’s weight problems capsule first out of the oral choices. It incorporates semaglutide, the identical ingredient present in Wegovy and Ozempic.
- 💊 The drugs ought to price lower than injectables, which have checklist costs of over $1,000 a month. In response to Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly’s offers with the Trump administration, if their oral weight problems medicines are authorized, they’ll promote them on to shoppers for $149 a month.
- 💊 A 25 mg semaglutide capsule resulted in a median weight lack of 16.6% over 64 weeks, in accordance with a examine within the New England Journal of Drugs. That is about the identical as Wegovy.
Image present
Aerial view of the densely inhabited space of Pozzuoli, situated inside the Campi Flegrei volcanic caldera. Over half one million folks stay on this area, which is repeatedly monitored as a result of ongoing volcanic exercise and the chance of floor uplift, earthquakes, and fuel emissions related to bradyseism
Valerio Muscella for NPR
disguise caption
toggle caption
Valerio Muscella for NPR
The highly effective Campi Flegrei volcano, situated close to Naples, Italy, is stirring as soon as once more, inflicting floor tremors that scientists say haven’t been felt for hundreds of years. Researchers are involved that the volcano might erupt quickly. Campi Flegrei’s prehistoric eruptions had been so vital that they blocked out the solar, reworking summer time into winter and coating Europe and Russia in a thick layer of volcanic ash. For everybody to outlive a modern-day eruption, greater than half one million folks would have to be evacuated from an space surrounding Campi Flegrei’s eight-mile-wide crater, which Italian authorities have designated the “red zone.” See photographs of the densely populated space and hearken to a resident describe what it’s prefer to stay there.
3 issues to know earlier than you go
Gramma’s 138th birthday was celebrated on the San Diego Zoo in 2022.
San Diego Zoo/YouTube/Screenshot by NPR
disguise caption
toggle caption
San Diego Zoo/YouTube/Screenshot by NPR
- It is estimated that Gramma the Galápagos tortoise was born in 1884, a yr when the U.S. had solely 39 states. The “sweet and shy tortoise,” who lived for a century on the San Diego Zoo, died Thursday at 141.
- Thanksgiving is peak season for Jiffy corn muffins, that are one of many top-selling dry items within the U.S. grocery market, in accordance with the corporate. The long-lasting, low-cost pastry staple has been round for 75 years. Here is how Jiffy manages to stay a staple for Individuals.
- NPR’s Phrase of the Week is inspecting the historical past of turkey, simply in time for the vacations. The hen has a historical past crammed with uncertainty, in accordance with historians and etymologists.
This text was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
