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Up First briefing: Boeing faces production caps, Haley bets on South Carolina
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Today’s top stories
The Federal Aviation Administration has laid out a plan for Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to fly again, but also imposed new limits on production at the company’s factories. More than 170 planes have been grounded since a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight in midair earlier this month.
- An apparent Boeing whistleblower has blamed mistakes at the Washington plant, alleging that four key bolts for the door were never re-installed after maintenance work before the jet left the factory.
- Max 9 planes could be back in the air as soon as tomorrow once they complete the FAA’s maintenance and inspection plan, NPR’s Joel Rose tells Up First. He says the FAA is imposing production caps not only on the Max 9 but other 737 lines, a rare step by the government.
- Aviation safety analyst and former commercial pilot Kathleen Bangs told Morning Edition that while those limits will hurt Boeing’s bottom line, the company is in many ways “too big to fail” because it gets more revenue from U.S. taxpayers than its commercial jets.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft is seen at Portland International Airport on January 9, 2024 in Oregon. The plane made an emergency landing following a midair fuselage blowout on Jan. 5.
Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
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Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft is seen at Portland International Airport on January 9, 2024 in Oregon. The plane made an emergency landing following a midair fuselage blowout on Jan. 5.
Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
Former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley is pinning her presidential hopes on her home state, which holds its primary on Feb. 24. At a rally in Charleston last night, Haley criticized former President Donald Trump as “chaos” for the country and knocked him for his mental lapses. She also touted her own achievements from her time as governor, from economic development to criminal justice reform.
- It’s not clear that Haley’s message is getting through to voters, NPR’s Stephen Fowler reports from Charleston. When it comes to securing the votes and delegates needed to beat Trump, Fowler says in many ways “the math ain’t mathin’.”
Alabama is set to carry out an execution today using nitrogen gas, a method that has never been used before in the U.S. This will be the second time the state attempts to execute Kenneth Smith, who was convicted for his role in a 1988 murder-for-hire plot. His first execution attempt, by lethal injection in 2022, was called off after workers spent hours trying to find a vein for the IV.
Today’s listen
Religiously unaffiliated people now make up 28% of U.S. adults, according to a new study from Pew Research. That’s a larger cohort than Catholics or evangelical Protestants.
Natacha Pisarenko/AP
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Natacha Pisarenko/AP

Religiously unaffiliated people now make up 28% of U.S. adults, according to a new study from Pew Research. That’s a larger cohort than Catholics or evangelical Protestants.
Natacha Pisarenko/AP
Religious “Nones” are now the largest cohort in the U.S. A new study from Pew Research Center found that the country’s share of religiously unaffiliated adults — meaning they consider themselves to be “atheists,” “agnostics” or “nothing in particular” — has grown to 28%, up from 16% in 2007. Nones tend to be young, white, male and liberal. And researchers say they could change electoral politics in the coming decades — if they can be persuaded to go to the polls. Read the story or give it a listen.
Deep dive
The scene at the U.S. Supreme Court on the day it overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Researchers estimate that 64,565 rape-caused pregnancies have occurred in states that banned abortion since then.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
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Jacquelyn Martin/AP

The scene at the U.S. Supreme Court on the day it overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Researchers estimate that 64,565 rape-caused pregnancies have occurred in states that banned abortion since then.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
New research estimates that rape has caused more than 64,500 pregnancies in the 14 states where abortion is banned. Few states with total bans on abortion have exceptions for rape, and those that do require victims to report the rape to authorities — which research shows only happens in a fraction of sexual assaults.
- Data on sexual assault and pregnancy is limited, so researchers analyzed figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bureau of Justice Statistics and FBI Uniform Crime Reports.
- Polls show that most Americans support access to abortion after rape, though such exceptions are not legally or logistically feasible in many states that ban the procedure.
- High-profile cases of abortion after rape — including in Kentucky and Ohio — have become political flashpoints since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
3 things to know before you go
An experimental gene therapy tested in young children with an inherited form of deafness restored some hearing for most of them.
VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/Getty Images/Science Photo Library
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VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/Getty Images/Science Photo Library

An experimental gene therapy tested in young children with an inherited form of deafness restored some hearing for most of them.
VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/Getty Images/Science Photo Library
- Gene therapy is showing promise for treating inherited deafness, researchers say. An experimental gene therapy restored at least some hearing for five of six participating children.
- Jon Stewart is returning to The Daily Show — which has spent more than a year looking for its new host — as executive producer and part-time host through the 2024 presidential election.
- The Palestinian national soccer team has advanced to the knockout stages of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time, sparking a moment of joy amid war.
This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.
News
Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links
Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to give deposition Friday to a congressional committee investigating his links to Jeffrey Epstein, one day after Hillary Clinton testified before the committee and called the proceedings “partisan political theatre” and “an insult to the American people”.
During remarks before the House oversight committee, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, insisted on Thursday that she had never met Epstein.
The former Democratic president, however, flew on Epstein’s private jet several times in the early 2000s but said he never visited his island.
Clinton, who engaged in an extramarital affair while president and has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women, also appears in a photo from the recently released files, in a hot tub with Epstein and a woman whose identity is redacted.
Clinton has denied the sexual misconduct claims and was not charged with any crimes. He also has not been accused of any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.
Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times during the early years of Clinton’s presidency, according to White House visitor records cited in news reports. Clinton said he cut ties with him around 2005, before the disgraced financier, who died from suicide in 2019, pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor in Florida.
The House committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August. They initially refused to testify but agreed after Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt.
The Clintons asked for their depositions to be held publicly, with the former president stating that to do so behind closed doors would amount to a “kangaroo court”.
“Let’s stop the games + do this the right way: in a public hearing,” Clinton said on X earlier this month.
The committee’s chair, James Comer, did not grant their request, and the proceedings will be conducted behind closed doors with video to be released later.
On Thursday, Hillary Clinton’s proceedings were briefly halted after representative Lauren Boebert leaked an image of Clinton testifying.
During the full day deposition, Clinton said she had no information about Epstein and did not recall ever meeting him.
Before the deposition, Comer said it would be a long interview and that one with Bill Clinton would be “even longer”.
News
Read Judge Schiltz’s Order
CASE 0:26-cv-00107-PJS-DLM
Doc. 12-1 Filed 02/26/26
Page 5 of 17
and to file a status update by 11:00 am on January 20. ECF No. 5. Respondents never provided a bond hearing and did not release Petitioner until January 21, ECF Nos. 10, 12, after failing to file an update, ECF No. 9. Further, Respondents released Petitioner subject to conditions despite the Court’s release order not providing for conditions. ECF Nos. 5, 12–13.
Abdi W. v. Trump, et al., Case No. 26-CV-00208 (KMM/SGE)
On January 21, 2026, the Court ordered Respondents, within 3 days, to either (a) complete Petitioner’s inspection and examination and file a notice confirming completion, or (b) release Petitioner immediately in Minnesota and confirm the date, time, and location of release. ECF No. 7. No notice was ever filed. The Court emailed counsel on January 27, 2026, at 10:39 am. No response was provided.
Adriana M.Y.M. v. David Easterwood, et al., Case No. 26-CV-213 (JWB/JFD)
On January 24, 2026, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and ordered Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release, or anticipated release, within 48 hours. ECF No. 12. Respondent was not released until January 30, and Respondents never disclosed the time of release, instead describing it as “early this morning.” ECF No. 16.
Estefany J.S. v. Bondi, Case No. 26-CV-216 (JWB/SGE)
On January 13, 2026, at 10:59 am, the Court ordered Respondents to file a letter by 4:00 pm confirming Petitioner’s current location. ECF No. 8. After receiving no response, the Court ordered Respondents, at 5:11 pm, to immediately confirm Petitioner’s location and, by noon on January 14, file a memorandum explaining their failure to comply with the initial order. ECF No. 9. Respondents did not file the memorandum, requiring the Court to issue another order. ECF No. 12. On January 15, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and required Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release within 48 hours. ECF No. 18. On January 20, having received no confirmation, the Court ordered Respondents to comply immediately. ECF No. 21. Respondents informed the Court that Petitioner was released in Minnesota on January 17, but did not specify the time. ECF No. 22.
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News
Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin
James Hickman holds a photo montage of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
CHICAGO — A line of mourners streamed through a Chicago auditorium Thursday to pay final respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as cross-country memorial services began in the city the late civil rights leader called home.
The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two days at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before events in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born.
Family members wiped away tears as the casket was brought into the stately brick building. Flowers lined the sidewalks where people waiting to enter watched a large screen playing video excerpts of Jackson’s notable speeches. Some raised their fists in solidarity.
The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
Inside, Jackson’s children, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Rev. Al Sharpton were among those who stood by the open casket to shake hands and hug those coming to view the body of Jackson, dressed in a suit and blue shirt and tie.
“The challenge for us is that we’ve got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain,” Sharpton told reporters. “Dr. King’s dream and Jesse Jackson’s mission now falls on our shoulders. We’ve got to stand up and keep it going.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
Jackson died last week at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak in his later years.
Remembrances have already poured in from around the globe, and several U.S. states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina, are flying flags at half-staff in his honor.
But perhaps nowhere has his death been felt as strongly as in the nation’s third-largest city, where Jackson lived for decades and raised his six children, including a son who is a congressman.
Bouquets have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s South Side for days. Public schools have offered condolences, and city trains have used digital screens to display Jackson’s portrait and his well-known mantra, “I am Somebody!”
People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
His causes, both in the United States and abroad, were countless: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, job opportunities, education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.


“We honor him, and his hard-earned legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher, and faithful shepherd of his family and community here in Chicago,” the mayor said in a statement.
Next week, Jackson will lie in honor at the South Carolina Statehouse, followed by public services. According to Rainbow PUSH’s agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to deliver remarks; however, the governor’s office said Thursday that his participation wasn’t yet confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and started his activism in South Carolina.
Details on services in Washington have not yet been made public. However, he will not lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.
The two weeks of events will wrap up next week with a large celebration of life gathering at a Chicago megachurch and finally, homegoing services at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Family members said the services will be open to all.
“Our family is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the amazing amount of support being offered by common, ordinary people who our father’s life has come into contact with,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said before the services began. “This is a unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country and to reflect upon a man who brought people together.”
The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
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Nam Y. Huh/AP
The services included prayers from some of the city’s most well-known religious leaders, including Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. Mourners of all ages — from toddlers in strollers to elderly people in wheelchairs — came to pay respects.
Video clips of his appearances at news conferences, the campaign trail and even “Sesame Street” also played inside the auditorium.
Claudette Redic, a retiree who lives in Chicago, said her family has respected Jackson, from backing his presidential ambitions to her son getting a scholarship from a program Jackson championed.
“We have generations of support,” she said. “I’m hoping we continue.”
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