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--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Welcome to Up First from NPR News. I'm Aisha Roscoe.
--:-- Scott Simon: And I'm Scott Simon.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: So what is the U.S.'s policy on Ukraine's use of long-range missiles inside Russia? We'll break it down for you.
--:-- Scott Simon: That's right. Plus, it's been a year since the United Auto Workers' strike made waves. We'll tell you how auto workers feel now. And a big moment for space tourism. A civilian suited up and went for a heck of a ride.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: You don't need to be a NASA-trained astronaut now, but there is something you will need. So stay with us.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: This message comes from BetterHelp. It's only human to ask others for advice, like turning to your barista, hairdresser, or a taxi driver for life advice. But when you're looking for help about relationships, anxiety, depression, or other clinical issues, they may not have all the right answers.
--:-- Scott Simon: Instead, get guidance from a licensed therapist online with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR for 10% off your first month.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: This message comes from Lisa. Lisa mattresses are meticulously designed and assembled in the USA for exceptional quality, and each mattress is designed with specific sleep positions and feel preferences in mind.
--:-- Scott Simon: Plus, they back it all up with free shipping, easy returns, and a 100-night sleep trial. Visit Lisa.com for 25% off mattresses, plus get an extra $50 off with promo code NPR.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: That's L-E-E-S-A dot com, promo code NPR.
--:-- Scott Simon: This message comes from Midi Health. Women in midlife face a healthcare desert, but Midi is here to fill the gap, offering expert care for perimenopause and menopause covered by insurance.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Hot flashes, insomnia, brain fog, weight gain, and moodiness don't have to be accepted as just another part of aging.
--:-- Scott Simon: Midi clinicians understand how these symptoms can connect to menopause and prescribe a wide range of solutions. Book your visit today at JoinMidi.com.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: That's joinmidi.com.
--:-- Scott Simon: This message comes from AT&T. Whether you're calling your parents to say happy anniversary or checking in with your kids before bedtime, staying connected matters.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: That's why AT&T has connectivity you can depend on, or they'll proactively make it right.
--:-- Scott Simon: That's the AT&T guarantee. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.com slash guarantee to learn more.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: AT&T. Connecting changes everything.
--:-- Scott Simon: Support for this podcast and the following message come from Enbridge. Enbridge is investing in infrastructure projects with the goal of keeping energy reliable, affordable, and dependable.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Because Enbridge believes the energy future depends on secure and affordable energy from modernized infrastructure.
--:-- Scott Simon: By investing in infrastructure and securing energy for families and businesses, Enbridge works to build a stronger, more resilient economy. Learn more at Enbridge.com.
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--:-- Scott Simon: The U.S. is considering allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets deep within Russia.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: But there was no announcement of a new policy after President Biden met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday to discuss the matter.
--:-- Scott Simon: Still, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been asking for that approval for months as the war rolls on.
--:-- Henry Harris: [Guest] Good morning, Scott.
--:-- Scott Simon: Good to have you with us, Henry. What's been the hesitation?
--:-- Henry Harris: In a word, escalation, concern about Russian escalation.
--:-- Scott Simon: Putin said this week, such an approval of long-range missiles inside Russia will show NATO is at war with Russia.
--:-- Henry Harris: Now, there's no question the White House has been worried about escalation from the start of the war two and a half years ago.
--:-- Scott Simon: And there's always concern that Russia could possibly use nuclear weapons.
--:-- Henry Harris: We've heard that repeatedly. Most analysts say that's really highly unlikely.
--:-- Scott Simon: But Putin has often made threats of escalation after pretty much every weapon system sent to Ukraine by the West.
--:-- Henry Harris: Patriot missiles, F-16s, tanks, and so forth.
--:-- Scott Simon: Critics say the Biden administration has been too slow in providing Ukraine with the necessary tools, too incremental, and too concerned about escalation.
--:-- Henry Harris: Now, Scott, what's changed recently in making approval of long-range missiles more likely is the fact that Iran has just agreed to send hundreds of missiles to Russia and also had they have trained Russian military personnel in Iran.
--:-- Scott Simon: British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that fact has, quote, changed the debate.
--:-- Henry Harris: I mean, Britain has its own long-range missiles. Couldn't they just let Ukraine use theirs?
--:-- Scott Simon: Yeah, it's a good point. They have what's called the Storm Shadow which can travel about 155 miles and could be used to hit those targets inside Russia.
--:-- Henry Harris: The Brits have sent a number of them to Ukraine, but that missile has American components, so they need the U.S. to sign off on those missiles to use inside Russia.
--:-- Scott Simon: The same with the French. They have a similar missile. It's called the Scalp.
--:-- Henry Harris: So it's possible the Biden administration could give a thumbs up for the use of the British and also the French missiles.
--:-- Scott Simon: Now, the American missile, it's called the ATACM. It's kind of the military, of course, loves acronyms. That stands for Army Tactical Missile System.
--:-- Henry Harris: The long-range version can travel 190 miles, and that's the one that Ukrainians really want.
--:-- Scott Simon: Now, they can use those long-range ones in Crimea, of course, since it's not Russian territory, and it's been very effective at hitting a number of Russian targets.
--:-- Henry Harris: Now, Ukraine can use some of the American-made missiles to fire into Russia right now, short distances, but only for defensive purposes.
--:-- Scott Simon: Let's say Russia is shooting at Ukrainian troops with artillery or missiles.
--:-- Henry Harris: Tom, what are the implications? What are some possible consequences if these missiles were approved for use by Ukraine?
--:-- Henry Harris: Well, defense analysts in those pushing for the use of these weapons say they could hurt Russia's ability to launch glide bombs from aircraft deep within Russia and also hit military targets like aircraft, missile launch sites, fuel, weapons depots, and really deal quite a blow to Russia.
--:-- Scott Simon: The Institute for the Study of War says there are some, get this, 250 targets inside Russia that these long-range missiles could strike.
--:-- Henry Harris: The administration says, well, listen, the Ukrainians used a lot of their long-range missiles to hit those Crimean targets. They They really don't have many left.
--:-- Scott Simon: And the U.S. really can't send a lot more, the U.S. says, without hurting its own military readiness, which some say is just a weak argument because the U.S. has thousands of these long-range missiles and the allies have hundreds.
--:-- Henry Harris: And of course, Russia is hitting Ukraine hard, especially energy infrastructure as a way to increase pressure on Ukraine as winter approaches.
--:-- Scott Simon: Now, the long-range missiles would be a way for the Ukrainians to push back against Russia.
--:-- Henry Harris: Of course, Brad Bowman, defense analyst, says striking deep inside Russia could maybe end the invasion or at least push Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
--:-- Scott Simon: But would they help Ukraine push back enough to win? And I pose that question because it came up at the debate on Tuesday between Donald Trump when he was asked during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris if he wanted Ukraine to win.
--:-- Henry Harris: No, that's right.
--:-- Scott Simon: And the big thing, Scott, is how do you define winning?
--:-- Henry Harris: Remember General David Petraeus famously said during the Iraq war, tell me how this ends.
--:-- Scott Simon: U.S. military officials have said neither side can win. Russia can't take over all of Ukraine.
--:-- Henry Harris: And Ukraine doesn't have the power, even with all this might from the West, to push all Russian forces out of its country.
--:-- Scott Simon: So what's the way ahead? No one is really answering that question.
--:-- Henry Harris: And neither side at this point, Ukraine or Russia seems intent on negotiations anytime soon.
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--:-- Aisha Roscoe: This weekend marks the first anniversary of the United Auto Workers strike, and at the time, the wins were celebrated as a triumph.
--:-- Scott Simon: The strike, which was carried out across multiple states and lasted six weeks, was the first time The UAW went on simultaneous strikes against the big three Detroit automakers.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: But those auto workers are still worried about job security.
--:-- Scott Simon: NPR's Andrea Hsu joins us now to tell us about their concerns.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: [Guest] Good morning, Aisha.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Hi, Andrea. So take us back to that big union win last year. This was talked of as a turning point for auto workers, right?
--:-- Andrea Hsu: Yeah, for sure. I mean, you have to remember, since before the Great Recession, auto workers had been losing ground.
--:-- Scott Simon: Their wages had been slashed. They lost great benefits like pensions when carmakers were in financial straits.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: But by the time 2023 rolled around, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis were making record profits.
--:-- Scott Simon: Their CEOs were earning tens of millions of dollars.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: And the auto workers demanded that they, too, be rewarded.
--:-- Scott Simon: Now they didn't get everything they asked for, but the union hailed the new contracts as an unprecedented win something that all workers could aspire to.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: So that was last year. How are workers faring now?
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Well, I went to Michigan and Ohio last week to talk specifically with workers at Stellantis, which, Aisha, you might know as Chrysler.
--:-- Scott Simon: I know it's been a bad year for the company. Car sales are down and profits are way down.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: And we know layoffs are coming to a truck plant near Detroit.
--:-- Scott Simon: But then there was this bad news about Belvedere. Belvedere.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: The union had gotten Stellantis to agree to reopen this plant in Illinois, which had been idled.
--:-- Scott Simon: That was actually a pillar of the new contract.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: And now the company says the reopening is on hold.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: So workers are feeling really uncertain about the future.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: I talked with Jim Cooper. He builds cheap Wranglers in Toledo.
--:-- Scott Simon: And he said, you know, there's always been talk that if costs get too high, the jobs could be moved to Mexico.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: But this time he told me, this would be the first time that I've ever actually thought that that could be a possibility.
--:-- Scott Simon: And this is coming from someone who never used to worry about job security.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: So what is the union doing about all of this?
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Well, they're not happy.
--:-- Scott Simon: The union has called out Stellantis for trying to go back on a promise.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: And local unions have filed grievances over the Belvedere delay.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: I spoke with Romaine McKinney. He's an electrician who's president of UAW Local 869 in Warren, Michigan.
--:-- Scott Simon: I asked him whether this could lead to another strike, and here's what he said.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: The objective is not to go on strike. The objective is to put hardworking union members in a job that can take care so they can take care of families.
--:-- Scott Simon: The best thing to do is honor the contract and let's get this thing rolling.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: But it's actually not so straightforward.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: The contract does have some wiggle room, allowing Stellantis to go back on investment commitments if market conditions change.
--:-- Scott Simon: And the company says that they have.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: So as we mentioned, workers did win big raises after last year's strike. Is that making a difference for people?
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Well, yeah, they went from making $31 something an hour before the strike to now more than $36 an hour.
--:-- Scott Simon: And there are more raises to come.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: And some people have actually gotten even bigger pay bumps, like a worker I met who was a longtime temp.
--:-- Scott Simon: He got rolled over to full-time status, and his wage has nearly doubled.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: But there is a twist here.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Last year, before the strike, auto workers were getting a ton of overtime.
--:-- Scott Simon: Sometimes they were working even 60 hours a week.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: And that has evaporated because demand for cars is just not what it was.
--:-- Scott Simon: So Jim Cooper, the guy we heard from earlier, told me he's taking home less now than he was before the strike.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And now a new strike, though not by autoworkers, on Friday workers at Boeing walked off the job.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: What's going on there?
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Yeah, these are 33,000 machinists who built airplanes on the West Coast.
--:-- Scott Simon: They voted down a contract that would have given them 25 percent raises over the next four years.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: They wanted even more.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And Ayesha, like the autoworkers, they're angry.
--:-- Scott Simon: They feel like they've gotten the short end of the stick going back more than a decade.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: And like all of us, they've been hit with inflation.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: I will say these workers do have some leverage.
--:-- Scott Simon: You know, for all of its problems, Boeing is still one of two companies making most of the world's airplanes.
--:-- Andrea Hsu: Their market share is really big.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: So this is really shaping up to be a tough fight.
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--:-- Scott Simon: Space tourism hit a new milestone this week a private spacewalk by civilians a wealthy businessman along with a team none of them nasa-trained astronauts got to go up in a rocket spacewalk lasted just a few minutes but uh certainly still sounds pretty eventful in pairs Jeff Brumfield is here to tell us more.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: [Guest] It's nice to be with you, Scott.
--:-- Scott Simon: Was this a walk and not a repair mission?
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: That's right. This was the first sort of private spacewalk just for fun.
--:-- Scott Simon: It was by a billionaire entrepreneur named Jared Isaacman, and he went up aboard a rocket from Elon Musk's company, SpaceX.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: SpaceX also made the spacesuits, which had a new design that had never flown in space before.
--:-- Scott Simon: And Isaacman was testing them out.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: I guess it wasn't totally for fun.
--:-- Scott Simon: Basically, the way it worked was they hooked these suits up to the white sort of umbilical cords that connected them to the spacecraft's life support systems.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: They pumped all the air out of the capsule and opened the hatch.
--:-- Scott Simon: And he was greeted by this fantastic view of Australia and New Zealand.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: He spent about 10 minutes outside and then came back in.
--:-- Scott Simon: And then he was followed by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, who did basically the same thing.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: The long tube, the umbilical hooked up into the spacesuit sounds like a lot what they used to do in the 1960s.
--:-- Scott Simon: Yeah, that's exactly right. You know, SpaceX tried to play up that this was a new system and it had some fancy stuff in there.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: There was a heads-up display on the helmet and stuff.
--:-- Scott Simon: But the truth is this is very much the way the Gemini spacewalks went.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: Because it very hard to build spacesuits with self life support systems.
--:-- Scott Simon: I think SpaceX saw this as a first step.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: They want to go on to build suits that can someday be used by astronauts going to Mars.
--:-- Scott Simon: And I think they had to walk before they could run, if you'll pardon the spacewalking pun there.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: What's the significance of civilians, too?
--:-- Scott Simon: Well, up until now, this has been only done by professional astronauts, and they don't do spacewalks for fun.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: They do them very much for work and out of necessity, for example, to maintain the International Space Station.
--:-- Scott Simon: Isaacman had gone up in a space capsule once before, but he's not NASA trained.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: And actually, none of his crew were trained by NASA either.
--:-- Scott Simon: There were two SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force pilot who works for Isaacman in the private sector, but they hadn't even been to space.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: And so this is significant because spacewalking is challenging, it's dangerous.
--:-- Scott Simon: And it wasn't entirely obvious that a private crew could do it.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: And now they've shown they can and get this amazing view.
--:-- Scott Simon: How much did that view cost?
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: A lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot. We don't know exactly how much because Isaacman won't say how much he's paid and neither will SpaceX.
--:-- Scott Simon: But I mean, space tourism is super expensive.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: So, for example, a company called Axiom will fly you to the International Space Station for 10 days at a cost of around $60 million dollars.
--:-- Scott Simon: There are some cheaper options.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: You know, if you're on a space tourism shoestring, you can fly to the edge of space, get a good view, a minute or two of weightlessness, and that'll run you anywhere from a little over half a million to a little over a million dollars.
--:-- Scott Simon: So even the cheap options cost more than most people's houses.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: So why all this talk that space tourism is coming into its own?
--:-- Scott Simon: Well, I mean, there are more ways to do space tourism than ever before.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: And Isaacman shows there's more stuff you can do in space than ever before.
--:-- Scott Simon: But I think it really is an open question whether it can be profitable.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: Most of these companies are privately held, but one called Virgin Galactic is public.
--:-- Scott Simon: And last year, it lost half a billion with a B dollars.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: Now, part of that is the ticket price and the fact that going to space is obviously expensive.
--:-- Scott Simon: But another issue is that most people are only going to do this once as opposed to planes, for example, which we take all the time.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: So I think there has been a lot of talk about space tourism.
--:-- Scott Simon: I think this is a big step for space tourism.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: In the meantime, people like Isaacman are having a good time.
--:-- Scott Simon: Well, thanks. And it's good to talk to you, Jeff Brumfield.
--:-- Jeff Brumfield: Thanks, Scott.
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--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And that's up first for Saturday, September 14th.
--:-- Scott Simon: I'm Aisha Roscoe.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: And I'm Scott Simon.
--:-- Scott Simon: Michael Radcliffe and Gabe O'Connor produced today's podcast.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Andrew Craig directed.
--:-- Scott Simon: Our editors were Dee Parvaz, Melissa Gray, Ed McNulty, Giselle Grayson, and Andrew Sussman.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Anna Glovna is our technical director with engineering support from Nisha Hines, Arthur Laurent, and Ted Meebane.
--:-- Scott Simon: Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor, Sarah Oliver is our executive producer, and Jim Kane is our deputy managing editor.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: So that's what he does.
--:-- Scott Simon: Tomorrow on the podcast, we've all heard eating less beef is better for climate, but it seems some of us may need to cut back more than others because men tend to eat more beef than women.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: So researchers are looking for ways to convince men to cut back on their burgers and steaks.
--:-- Scott Simon: Okay, Mr. Simon, put down the hamburger. Please, please put it down.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: But you know, we always have all the latest on the biggest stories of the day for you, for all the news, plus movies, music, even some cosmic wonder.
--:-- Scott Simon: Go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station so you can tune in to Weekend Edition every Saturday and Sunday morning.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: We're here.
--:-- Scott Simon: Yes, please listen.
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--:-- Aisha Roscoe: This message comes from Lisa. Lisa mattresses are meticulously designed and assembled in the USA for exceptional quality, and each mattress is designed with specific sleep positions and feel preferences in mind.
--:-- Scott Simon: Plus, they back it all up with free shipping, easy returns, and a 100-night sleep trial. Visit Lisa.com for 25% off mattresses, plus get an extra $50 off with promo code NPR.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: That's L-E-E-S-A dot com, promo code NPR.
--:-- Scott Simon: This message comes from EasyCater, a business tool for food, helping organizations order food for meetings and events from favorite restaurants, set up meal programs for their employees, and manage food spend all in one place at easycater.com.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: This message comes from the Nature Conservancy. Nature is common ground for everyone, and uniting to protect nature can help solve today's challenges and create a thriving tomorrow for future generations.
--:-- Scott Simon: Discover why at nature.org slash NPR.
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