Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
President Trump says he is declaring a national emergency to pay TSA agents who've been
“working without pay during the 41-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.”
This comes as Congress has been at an impasse to fund the agency. Democrats have been holding out for a deal to rain in President Trump's immigration crackdowns.
Wait times, at some airports have exceeded four hours, with up to 40 to 50 percent of employees
calling out of work, more than 480 TSA agents have quit. Thousands of US paratroopers and Marines are deploying to the Middle East. This has President Trump's ways, whether to seize Carg Island home to Iran's main oil processing facility in PR's Jackie North and Reports. Carg Island in the Persian Gulf is considered an economic lifeline for Iran, more than 90 percent
of its oil exports are funneled through the tiny island. The buildup of troops heading to the Middle East is fueling speculation that the U.S. might try to seize and hold Carg Island. Caitlyn Talmud, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says that would be militarily challenging.
“Inserting U.S. forces, so close to Iran's shores would be risky and carry the potential”
for casualties. Iran has warned it will launch retaliatory strikes against energy infrastructures in the region if Carg Island is attacked, which could send world energy prices soaring. Jackie North and P.R. News. The Treasury Department plans to print President Trump's signature on every new U.S. paper
bill. It would be the first time a sitting president's signature appears on currency. It's part of his administration's broader push to put Trump's name and image on public symbols. Treasury is also backing a plan to put Trump's visage on a coin.
Mortgage rates continue to rise sharply since the war with Iran began.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage is now around 6.4 percent, according to Freddie Mac.
And P.R.s. Stephen Bassaha reports that's leading to fewer people in the U.S. buying and selling homes.
“Just days before the war began, mortgage rates fell below 6 percent for the first time”
in two and a half years. But the war is disrupted the bond market, which raises the cost of borrowing. So do investor concerns about fuel prices and inflation. Mike Fred and Tony is the mortgage banker's association's chief economist. He says this rise in mortgage rates comes just as the busy spring home buying season begins.
This is a tough time to see a jump in rates like this, because it likely is going to cause a number of people to at least take a step back and say, okay, is this the time to move forward or should I wait until things settle down? Mortgage rates now at their highest level in six months. Stephen Bassaha and P.R. News.
The International Olympic Committee is banning transgender women from competition, aligning with President Trump's recent executive order ahead of the 20-28 Los Angeles Games. Eligibility will be determined by a gene screening. It's unclear how many, if any transgender women are competing at a Olympic level. U.S. stocks had their worst day today since the war with Iran started.
This is NPR News from Washington. The House Ethics Committee is holding a rare public hearing until alleged ethics violations by Florida, Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Sheriffalist McCormick.
She's facing federal charges for allegedly stealing $5 million in COVID-19 disaster relief
funds. She denies any wrongdoing. A new report from AARP finds 59 million Americans are caregivers for their older parents, spouses and other loved ones, and P.R.'s Allison Aubrey reports the CARES often unpaid, equal to about $1 trillion of labor each year. If you take your parent to the doctor or help out by picking up their groceries, you're
likely part of the unpaid caregivry economy. AARP estimates that includes 49 billion hours of care each year. Without family caregivers, millions of older adults would require institutional care, which would drive up costs for families and taxpayers. There's also the physical and emotional toll of caring, says CEO, Dr. Mayisha Menter
Jordan. Caregivers are stretching their finances, sacrificing their own well-being, and too often they are doing it alone. She says policy makers can do more to support caregivers, including tax credits and deductions to offset costs, Allison Aubrey and PR news.
Wildlife experts are warning against discarding vapes after a squirrel was caught vaping on camera in a London park, a viral video shows a gray squirrel puffing, or more likely chewing on an e-sigarette while perched on a fence in Brickston, a spokesperson for the royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animal says it's a reminder of the danger that litter poses to wildlife.
This is NPR News. We started making embedding 10 years ago, but the stories in our archive are as relevant as ever, like this series about President Trump from 2017. He hustled himself with TV show, he hustled himself a gig, and I continued to go, "Wow." To better understand how we got here, hear the inside story of how he got here, find
