Iran-U.S. talks; Larry Summers; Cuba gunfight : NPR

Good morning. Welcome to the latest edition of the Up First newsletter. Sign up here to receive it directly in your inbox, and don’t forget to tune in to the Up First podcast for your daily news briefing.

Today’s highlights

High-level officials from the U.S. and Iran are scheduled to meet today in Geneva for talks regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, with hopes of averting a potential conflict. This comes after President Trump’s recent claims, unsupported by evidence, in his State of the Union speech about Iran’s missile capabilities. The current U.S. military presence in the Middle East is at its most intense level since the Iraq invasion in 2003.

• 🎧 The escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran and the looming threat of retaliation have heightened the risk of a broader conflict, placing the entire region on alert, as reported by NPR’s Jane Arraf on Up First. In anticipation of the bilateral meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with the U.S. on the nuclear issue, while emphasizing that ballistic missiles are not up for negotiation. Arraf indicates that today’s discussions are unlikely to yield breakthroughs, but the scheduling of future talks would signify progress. Meanwhile, countries in the Middle East like Lebanon are urging their citizens to evacuate due to the potential for the conflict to escalate if Iran comes under attack.

Larry Summers, a prominent Harvard professor and economist, has announced his resignation from teaching later this year following revelations about his association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Summers, a key figure at Harvard who served as its president from 2001 to 2006 and as Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, is under investigation along with others for their connections to Epstein.

• 🎧 Summers maintained communication with Epstein even after Epstein’s first conviction in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution, as reported by Suevon Lee from NPR’s network station WBUR. Despite no criminal charges against him, Summers’ correspondence with Epstein continued until 2019, shortly before Epstein’s arrest on federal charges related to sex trafficking minors. Lee notes that the emails reveal the closeness between Summers and Epstein, prompting Harvard to reopen investigations into Epstein’s ties to faculty members. Lee highlights that other academic institutions are also implicated in the Epstein scandal, with several professors and a college president mentioned in the Epstein files.

An incident involving Cuban border troops and a boat registered in Florida resulted in a gunfight late Wednesday, according to Cuban authorities. The soldiers reportedly killed four individuals aboard the boat, while six others sustained injuries. Cuba claims the boat was carrying “terrorists attempting to infiltrate the island,” and authorities recovered assault rifles, handguns, and Molotov cocktails from the vessel, as per Cuba’s interior ministry.

• 🎧 The individuals on the boat were known to the Cuban government, identified as Cuban expatriates residing in the U.S. Some were designated as terrorists by the Cuban government, as NPR’s Eyder Peralta reports. Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez, affiliated with the people’s self-defense group Auto Defensa del Pueblo, survived the altercation, according to Cuban authorities. Gonzalez’s associate Kiki Naranjo revealed to Peralta that they lead the organization, recruiting Cubans from the island over the past few years to establish an underground movement aimed at undermining the Cuban government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the U.S. would investigate the incident without rushing to conclusions. Michael Bustamante, a Cuba expert at the University of Miami, believes that the Trump administration may desire to escalate tensions with Cuba beyond a certain threshold, potentially leading to mass migration or regime change, prompting a U.S. military intervention that Trump may not favor.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will refrain from patrolling polling locations during the upcoming midterm elections, as confirmed by a Department of Homeland Security official in a call with state voting officials. Kentucky’s Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams verified the assurance in a social media post. This decision comes amidst continued false assertions by the president regarding noncitizen voter fraud, including in his recent State of the Union address.

Must-Watch