Good morning. This is the Up First briefing to start your day.
Top story
The U.S. Senate voted 60–40 to approve a continuing resolution late last night to reopen the federal government. Speaker Mike Johnson has called the House back to Washington; the House must pass the temporary funding bill before President Trump can sign it into law.
Alongside the stopgap measure, senators approved three bipartisan annual appropriations bills covering select agencies, including the FDA. That progress lowers the immediate risk of a shutdown, but lawmakers still face a potential partial lapse of funding at the end of January; some programs, such as SNAP, would continue even if parts of the government pause. A proposal to extend expiring health-care subsidies was not included in the current measures. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he will schedule a vote on that extension by mid-December. Democrats who favor the subsidy extension will need to assemble enough Republican support to pass it.
Seven Senate Democrats and one independent joined Republicans to reopen the government, drawing sharp criticism from left-leaning voters who argue Democrats are conceding on key priorities. Still, Democrats could benefit politically if affordability and cost-of-living concerns remain central issues heading into next year’s midterms.
COP30 climate talks
Delegates from nearly 200 countries have opened climate negotiations at COP30 in Brazil. As in past summits, talks begin against a sobering backdrop: nations are not on track to meet targets for reducing emissions from fossil fuels. Current pathways put the world on roughly a five-degree-Fahrenheit warming track, which would intensify heatwaves and storms and endanger ecosystems like coral reefs.
There are signs of progress: more than 90 percent of new power projects built last year were renewable, indicating a global shift toward cleaner electricity generation. NPR is following COP30 closely with ongoing coverage and reporting.
Global diplomacy
Some white Afrikaner and Afrikaans groups in South Africa have pushed back against recent statements from the U.S. administration, calling those comments “lies” and “falsehoods” misattributed to them. The backlash follows President Trump’s announcement that no U.S. officials will attend the upcoming G20 Summit in Johannesburg, which South Africa is hosting as the rotating chair; the administration cited human-rights concerns for the decision.
Living Better: ultra-processed foods and health
Living Better is a series on what it takes to stay healthy in America. Recent public-health efforts have focused on reducing consumption of ultra-processed foods, which constitute a large share of American diets. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has warned these products are “poisoning” Americans, but nutrition experts do not agree on a single definition of “ultra-processed.”
Key points to know:
– The term describes how much a food has been industrially transformed, from unprocessed or minimally processed items to products with manufactured ingredients and additives.
– Some so-called ultra-processed foods—fortified plant-based milks, for example—can provide nutritional benefits in certain contexts.
– Ultra-processed options are often cheaper and easier to find. Consumers aiming to eat healthier can make better choices within this category and focus on reducing added sugars.
Behind the story
This essay was reported by Quil Lawrence, NPR’s veterans correspondent. On Veterans Day, Lawrence released a two-part podcast in The Sunday Story that follows Dave Carlson, an Iraq War veteran he has been in touch with for more than a decade. Lawrence highlights how incarceration can strip veterans of access to benefits, complicating care for those with combat-related PTSD. He tracked down incarcerated veterans to interview and connected with Carlson through writings Carlson’s mother posted online. Reflecting on years of reporting, Lawrence says the question of what society owes returning veterans remains unresolved; he suggests starting with an open mind and recognition that most veterans are “just like you and me.”
3 things to know before you go
1) David Szalay’s novel Flesh won this year’s Booker Prize. 2) The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a case challenging its 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. 3) The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to play their home games in Orlando in 2027 while their stadium undergoes a $1.4 billion renovation.
This edition was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.