"Li," from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi, saying.
The State Department says it has been in touch with more than 13,000 Americans in the
“Middle East to provide help or advice on getting home in the wake of the war.”
U.S. funded evacuation flights have begun, but most Americans are leaving on commercial flights. NPR's Michelle Kellerman has the latest. The Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs, Dylan Johnson, says several flights have safely returned hundreds of Americans to the United States. He says there will be additional flights in the coming days as security conditions allow.
Johnson posted one picture on social media of Americans boarding a Patriot's plane, but a State Department official noted that the U.S. government knocked the football team covered the cost of that flight. Another official says that about 30 to 40 percent of the Americans who are offered seats on chartered flights have declined, taking their own commercial options or changing their
plans.
“Michelle Kellerman and PR News, the State Department.”
The U.S. and Israel are continuing strikes on Iran for the 7th day. Iran is now the 7th country bombed by the U.S. in President Trump's second term, and PR's Sage Miller with more. Trump, who campaigned on ending wars, has approved drone strikes in seven countries since he took office last year.
Of those, the U.S. has never directly bombed Iran, Venezuela, and Nigeria.
Though the U.S. did bomb Iranian energy assets in the 1980s, but the four other countries Trump has bombed have been previously targeted by the U.S. They are Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and Iraq. The Trump administration has argued the strikes carried out by the U.S. during the President's second term, including the ones in Iran, were part of counter-terrorism efforts.
“Trump also bombed seven countries during his first term, Sage Miller and PR News.”
A new study suggests certain drugs for diabetes and weight loss can lower the risk of addiction, and PR's John Hamilton reports on the research of the medical journal BMJ. The study looked at data on more than 600,000 people with type 2 diabetes, all were in the VA health system.
Dr. Ziyad Al-Ali of Washington University in St. Louis says those treated with GLP-1 drugs
like "ozampic" were less likely to be diagnosed with substance use disorder. They had less risk across several addictive substances, including opioids, cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, and other substances. For most of these substances, the risk was about 15 to 20% lower. The study also found that people with a history of addiction were less likely to overdose
or require emergency treatment. Al-Ali says the results are promising but need to be confirmed in controlled trials. John Hamilton and PR News. The economy unexpectedly lost 92,000 jobs last month as the unemployment rate edged up to 4.4% according to a report from the Labor Department.
It's NPR. The battery company, SK, has laid off more than 950 people from a plant in Commerce, Georgia to days their last day on the job. The electric vehicle market has changed with cooling demand for EVs as the Trump administration rolls back stringent emissions policies.
South Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez has announced he is dropping his reelection effort. He's faced growing pressure from Republican House leadership, Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies reports that Gonzalez says he will not resign. Gonzalez made the announcement on social media days after admitting he had an affair
with a former staffer, which is against House rules. He also said he'd serve out the rest of his term in Congress. That former staffer, Regina Santasaveles took her own life in September. House Republican leaders had called on Gonzalez to end his reelection bid over the scandal and the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into Gonzalez's conduct.
Earlier this week, Gonzalez made it into the runoff in the Republican primary for the 23rd congressional district in Texas, trailing Brandon Adetta, a YouTube pro gun influencer. Adetta is now the GOP nominee and will face Democrat Katie Padilla Stout in the November General Election. For NPR News, I'm David Martin Davies in San Antonio.
The Dow Jones industrial average is now down 383 points at 47,571 the S&P's down 60. From the NASDAQ's fall in 216 points, you're listening to NPR.
