Heckwood
Up First

Blanche Confirmation Hearing, US and Strait of Hormuz, ICE Vehicle Stops

Jul 15, 2026 · 13m 16s
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About this episode

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will be on Capitol Hill today for his high-stakes confirmation hearing to lead the Justice Department permanently. President Trump has talked about the US fully controlling the Strait of Hormuz. But for the US military that means much more than imposing yet another blockade on the key waterway. The third fatal ICE shooting in a week is now prompting a policy shift at the agency. According to Senator Angus King, ICE will now suspend most vehicle stops during enforcement operations. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Anna Yukhananov, Alina Hartounian, Mohamad ElBardicy, Alice Woelfle, and Ziad Buchh. It was produced by Paige Waterhouse and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin. (0:00) Introduction (1:49) Blanche confirmation hearing (5:38) US and the Strait of Hormuz (9:32) ICE Vehicle stops See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Blanche Confirmation Hearing, US and Strait of Hormuz, ICE Vehicle Stops — Heckwood