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Updated August 24, 2026 at 2:02 PM EDT Listen to NPR's State of the World podcast, a human perspective on global stories in just a few minutes, every weekday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has unveiled a new round of U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, in what President Trump has called an "economic D-Day." "Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Bessent said Monday.

We all know a sprint feels different than a longer, take-it-slow kind of workout. Your heart is pounding. You gasp for air. Maybe your muscles burn. Now, new research reveals this kind of high-intensity training provokes a remarkably robust response throughout the bloodstream. The training substantially mobilizes more proteins and other molecules in the hours after exercising. The findings were published by a team of scientists in the U.S., Australia and Sweden.

DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, HOST: Earlier this summer, Europeans stumbled across ancient mammoth skeletons and rotting Nazi warships nestled in the riverbeds of the Rhine and Danube rivers. The discovery sparked much excitement from archaeologists, but there is a twist here. They discovered these finds because of climate change. This phenomenon is something that Jan (ph) Hollesen pays close attention to.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to unveil a new round of economic sanctions on Iran on Monday, in what he has described as the "single greatest financial offensive ever." President Trump has called it an "economic D-Day" and pledged to go after other countries who extend an economic lifeline to Tehran. In anticipation, the Iranian currency, the Rial, has plunged to a record low. What are these new sanctions and how much more pressure can they pile on?

Body camera footage shows that Jonah Neal did not pose a threat that warranted deadly force when a member of the federal crime-fighting task force in Memphis shot him in late May, according to a lawyer representing his family. Jonah Neal, 25, was shot inside his home by a federal agent who responded to a 911 call that Neal was experiencing a mental breakdown.

Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to announce a new round of economic pressure on Iran to force it back into negotiations.

As the sight of armed, uniformed National Guard troops became ubiquitous in Washington, D.C., over the past year, one voice has been notably absent from the public discourse around the deployment: the guard members themselves. "I will say very frankly that the bad taste that this mission left in my mouth, it actually embarrasses me to be involved in any way," one guard member who was part of the deployment for several months recently told NPR.

In the end, it was an American who took the crown. The first-ever street race in the nation's capital ended with Florida native Kyle Kirkwood on the podium. He led 128 of the 147 laps, finishing with a commanding win. Kyle Kirkwood, driver of the #27 Sam's Club Honda, celebrates with his crew after winning the NTT INDYCAR Series Freedom 250. Kyle Kirkwood, driver of the #27 Sam's Club Andretti Global Honda, celebrates after winning the NTT INDYCAR Series.

CHICAGO — Sean Grayson, a former Illinois sheriff's deputy whose fatal shooting of Sonya Massey inside her home became a flashpoint over police use of force, died Sunday while serving a 20-year prison sentence. Grayson's attorney, Daniel Fultz, confirmed that his client died earlier Sunday but declined to provide any further details.

As the sight of armed, uniformed National Guard troops became ubiquitous in Washington, D.C. over the past year, one voice has been notably absent from the public discourse around the deployment: the guard members themselves. "I will say very frankly that the bad taste that this mission left in my mouth, it actually embarrasses me to be involved in any way," one guard member who was part of the deployment for several months recently told NPR.